Chocolate Cream Pie

This is the pie that I made for my family's Christmas get-together. It's my version of the original, which comes from a cookbook called Sunday in the South. 

Of course, I must tell you that I wasn't trying to be "creative" or "experimental". I, as usual, did not have one of the ingredients required. It asked for unsweetened chocolate, I had bittersweet...so I just reduced the amount of sugar that was called-for. And it turned out wonderful! 

Enough talking, here is the recipe.

1 (9") pie crust, pre baked

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups whole milk

4 egg yolks, beaten

3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 pint whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 oz. semisweet chocolate, shaved

1. Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a large saucepan. Add the milk and chocolate and cook over medium high heat until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is slightly thickened.  Reduce heat and continue cooking for 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

To the beaten eggs, add about 1/2 cup of the chocolate mixture and stir. Add the eggs to the saucepan, bring to a low boil and stir continuously for 4 minutes. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Pour into the baked pie crust, cool, and chill for 2-3 hours. 

Place the whipping cream in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Add the sugar and whip the cream until soft peaks form. Spread the cream over the top of the chilled pie and garnish with the chocolate shavings.

*If you want to make this Dark Chocolate Cream Pie, add 1/4 cup sugar to the cornstarch mixture, and use 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate rather than bittersweet.