November 3, 2010

French Cream Pie

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem


Oh,wow. This is good. No, I mean really good. Probably a little too good. In fact, don't plan on making this unless you can guarantee every slice but one can be eaten by someone who's NOT you. So in other words, a perfect Eid treat!
  
I first saw this recipe in a simple and unassuming cookbook my sister gave me when I first got married and bookmarked it almost immediately. Back in those days, I had time to devote hours upon hours to do thins like trying new recipes that have more than 10 steps or allowing doughs to rise twice. If I saw a recipe like that today, I'd give it a hearty laugh and toss it over my shoulder as I got back to finishing dinner, changing diapers and switching loads of laundry...all at the same time.


 But when I did stumble upon it recently; all of a sudden I could think of nothing else except slicing into a creamy, rich slice of this pie. Yes, it has a lot of ingredients that have to be just so (melted, cooled, continuously whisked, chilled, etc) and it is really one of those pain-in-the-butt recipes but did y'all read how I started this post? It's good. And ya, it's worth the effort, especially with Eid around the corner



Classic Chocolate Cream Pie
One pre-made Oreo or graham cracker crust ( I made this myself at home with about 12 - 15 chocolate wafer cookies)
3/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
3 3/4 c. milk
5 egg yolks
3 squares (3 ounces) unsweetened Baker's chocolate, melted
2 Tblsp. butter, cut into pieces
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. heavy or whipping cream

In a heavy 3-quart saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt; with a wire whisk, stir in milk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened and boils; boil one minute. In a small bowl, with a wire whisk, lightly beat egg yolks. Beat 1/2 c. hot milk mixture into beaten egg yolks. Slowly pour egg mixture back into milk mixture, stirring rapidly to prevent curdling. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is very thick or until temperature reaches 160 degrees.( I think I burned my milk slightly here but after a day or say chilling in the fridge and the whipped topping layer, you couldn't tell!)

Remove saucepan from heat and stir in melted chocolate, butter pieces, and vanilla until butter melts and mixture is smooth. Pour hot chocolate filling into crust; press plastic wrap onto surface. Refrigerate until filling is set, about 4 hours.(I let it sit 24 hours and it was perfect!)

To serve, in small bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat cream until stiff peaks form; spoon over chocolate filling.(totally skipped this and bought cool whip!)

14 comments:

  1. Essalam Alaikum, Oh MY!!!!!!! I'm going to have to try this Insha'allah!

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  2. This looks amazingly delicious, inshallah will attempt doing it..:)

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  3. I will have to try this one. I have been wanting to make it a long time now, and your post inspires me to do so. What do you think I can use if I do not have a pie plate?

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  4. Thanks girls! It's really worth the effort! Try it out for Eid, or anything else, and let me know how it goes for ya!

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  5. wow looks good mashaAllah.

    im going to make it for eid insha'Allah.

    couple of questions...doesn't cool whip make the dessert more sweet? Im planning to use cool whip too because we don't have heavy whipping cream in canada...and its so hard to whip..the normal whipping cream....it doesn't work. blah.

    how many servings does it have?

    jazakAllah khayr:)

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  6. UmmD: the whipped cream does add some sweetness, but the pie itself isn't all that sweet. Its more of that bitter sharpness that comes from the chocolate, so the topping was a welcomed sweetness. You can use a regular pie crust instead of chocolate crumbs to make the over all pie less sweet, though. It should give you 8 generous servings, but we cut the slices smaller since it's a rich pie and got at least 10. Hope you like it!:)

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  7. Umm Summayah, if you don't have a pie plate try a round casserole dish or a spring form cake pan lined with foil. It may not come out as nicely as if it were in a pie pan, but its still better than nothing! :)

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  8. This looks fantastic!!! May I ask if you have any suggestions/guidance for someone entertaining a guest that eats only Halal and vegetarian? Thank you!

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  9. Thanks Rhonda! Let's see, when it comes to halal food the easiest thing is to buy the meat and food items from a Halal grocery store (I see you're in Tulsa, I know there's an active Islamic community there and they would surely have at least one halal grocery store). Other than that, you can look for items in a regular grocery store that have the kosher symbols on the (a U,K or P in a circle) to ensure there isn't any pig or animal products in the food. If all that fails there's soy and veggie "fake meat" brands like MorningStar and Bocaburger that you can use in place of halal meat. If you have more specific questions about halal food, just email me at bintnizam@gmail.com :)

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  10. OMG no comment cuz I'm about to eat the pictures!!!!!! Pie is my weakness, I'm glad hubby doesn't like it that much ( I'm so mean ^_^ mwahahahhaa)

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  11. Samar, it was so yummy, it might even turn your Hubby into a pie-lover!

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Tell me what you think! As always, feedback and reviews are appreciated...happy cooking!