suemunzlinger's Recipe

Chocolate Pie

Category: Desserts

Pastry for single-crust pie (9 inches)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2-1/2 cups half-and-half cream
4 egg yolks
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
TOPPING:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon Cognac or brandy
2 teaspoon powdered sugar
Baking cocoa

Directions
1. On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Line unpricked pastry with a double thickness of foil. Fill with dried beans or uncooked rice. * note

2. Bake at 400 about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake 10 to 12 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
3. In a heavy saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in cream. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.
Remove from the heat.
In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Be careful to temper eggs so you do not have scrambled eggs.
Cook and stir over low heat 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat; stir in the chocolate, Cognac and vanilla until chocolate is melted.

4. Transfer to a clean bowl; press plastic wrap onto surface of filling. Cool filling to room temperature. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate, covered, until cold, about 4 hours.

5. For topping, in a small bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add Cognac and confectioners' sugar; beat until soft peaks form. Spread over pie. Sprinkle with cocoa. Yield: 8 servings.


* Note: I let the beans cool and store in plastic zip bag to reuse again for blind baking. Can not use again to cook and eat.