Cream Pie...Part Two

It was told unto me that blogging etiquette requires a recipe accompanying pictures of eatables. So, for thee, Mrs. Edgren, thou mayest enjoy this humble recipe.

Dark Chocolate Cream Pie

Recipe taken from Better Homes and Garden Cookbook

1 Baked Pastry Shell (recipe following)

4 eggs divided

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup corn starch

2 1/2 cups milk or half-in-half

a little under one cup of chocolate chips

1 tbsp. butter

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 pint whipping cream

<>Prepare Baked Pastry Shell. Separate egg yolks from whites. Discard whites.

<>For filling, in a medium saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in milk or half-in-half. Add chocolate chips right after mild is stirred in. Cook and STIR over medium heat until thickened and bubbly; reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Slightly beat egg yolks, and gradually stir in 1 cup of hot filling into yolks. Add egg yolk mixture to filling in saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil; reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Keep filling warm.

<>Whip whipping cream until quite stiff, adding enough powdered sugar to sweeten.

<>Pour warm filling into Baked Pastry Shell. Cool, until room temperature. (If you are in a hurry, put pie in freezer to chill faster) Spread whipping cream over chilled filling. If desired, you can grate some chocolate chips over the top. ;o)

Baked Pastry Shell:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup shortening (I used half butter, half shortening)

4 t0 5 tablespoons cold water

O In a medium sized bowl stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea-size.

O Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water at a time over the flour mixture; gently toss with a fork, just until moistened.

O To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin. Unroll pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin. Unroll pastry into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate without stretching it.

O Trim pastry to 1 1/2 inches beyond edge of pie plate. Fold pastry under. Crimp edge as desired.