Chocolate Cream Pie v2.0

"Cassie, you wanna make the dessert?" Of course I do! What would you like? "Oh, just make whatever you feel like making." They say that to me thinking they're doing me a favor. No, no, no... I love it when you tell me exactly what you want! I wish people would do it more often! So last week when my dad asked me for a chocolate cream pie, not too dark, kind milk chocolate-y, I jumped at the opportunity! Plus, it was an excuse for me to finally use the Dove solid milk chocolate bunny I've had since Easter.

The last time my dad requested a chocolate cream pie, I used a recipe from AllRecipes.com. It was alright, but you know me and my inability to settle on a recipe. This time I went for a surefire, failproof recipe from the ONLY source for perfect pie recipes, The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. The recipe was unbelievably easy and quick. I made my favorite pie crust recipe to accompany the creamy chocolate filling and the cool whipped cream. (I know it's my dad's favorite pie crust too because his initial request wasn't for chocolate cream pie. It was for just plain pie crust that he could break into shards and dip into his Kozy Shack chocolate pudding!)

Rose didn't let me down. The pie was a hit, and my dad was completely satisfied. He's so funny! Everytime I make something we could potentially sell at our future bakery, he always calls out a prospective price. This one will be $34.95! ;DSome advice: When you cook the filling, make sure you let it thicken until it's almost as thick as you want it to be in your finished pie. It thickens as it cools, but it's not like Jell-O! It needs all the help it can get on the stove. And let it chill overnight. We cut into hours when it had been in the fridge for about 3 hours, and the filling was still a bit too soft. :)

PS: I didn't even notice until I started typing out the recipe, but there's a variation in the book for a milk chocolate version!! Lol! I included it here.

Chocolate Cream Pie (from The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum)

1 9-inch pie crust, prebaked (half the recipe after the link)

Filling
2 large eggs
1/4 cup (24 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed
3 tablespoons (28 g) cornstarch
3 cups milk, divided
2/3 cup (132 g) sugar
Pinch of salt
6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet chocolate, grated or finely chopped (I used milk chocolate)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping (I made a double recipe of this)
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoo n confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Chocolate curls or shavings for garnish, optional

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, cocoa, cornstarch, and 1/4 cup of the milk until smooth.
In a medium nonreactive saucepan, stir together the remaining 2 3/4 cups of milk, the sugar, and salt. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a full boil. Whisk 1/4 cup of this hot mixture into the egg mixture. Whisk the egg mixture into the milk mixture. Cook, continuing to whisk rapidly, being sure to go into the edges of the pan, until the mixture thickens and pools a little when dropped on the surface. (It thickens quickly, but let it cook until it's almost as thick as you want it to be in your finished pie.)
Remove it from the heat and whisk in the chocolate and butter. Continue whisking until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Using a rubber spatula, immediately press the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Allow it to cool to room temperature, or refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Pour the chocolate filling into the baked pie shell. It will fill the shell up to the top. Place a piece of greased plastic wrap on the surface and refrigerate the pie for at least 3 hours.
In a chilled bowl with chilled beaters, combine the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form. (Do not over beat; it will turn to butter!) Remove the plastic wrap from the pie and mound the topping over the chocolate filling.

VARIATION: For a less bittersweet, more milk chocolate filling, replace the milk with half-and-half, decrease the sugar to 1/2 cup (100 g), omit the cocoa, and increase the chocolate to 10 ounces (284 g).

Baked Rice Pudding

Q: What do you do with all the leftover white rice you get with your Chinese takeout?

A: Make rice pudding, duh!

I've loved rice pudding ever since I was a kid. My dad used to buy the Kozy Shack brand in the big container. Momma would divide it up into those little Tupperware cups with the plastic lids. Then, when it was time for dessert she'd take them out of the fridge, sprinkle them with cinnamon, and mmmmm it was so good! Until this day, I can't understand how some people don't like it! I guess it's a love it or hate it thing. Josh doesn't like it. He says it's a texture thing. I don't understand that either, but to each his own. That means more rice pudding for me, IF I can fight the spoon away from my dad! ;D

This recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens: New Baking Book. I love this book, and I recommend it to any home baker. Along with lots of pictures and informative tid-bits, the book has a wide variety of recipes, including low-fat, foreign specialties, and my favorite, old-fashioned desserts, which is the chapter where the rice pudding recipe was hiding. The recipe would be perfect without any tweaking, but of course I can't always go by the recipe word-for-word. I added a little extra vanilla and just a pinch of lemon zest. I also plumped my raisins in dark rum for a minute or two. The end result is fabulous! My family prefers it cold, so after it cooled I divided it up into containers, just like mom used to. It's perfectly creamy with just the right amount of vanilla and cinnamon. And the lemon zest really brightens it up and keeps it from feeling so heavy without actually tasting lemony. This recipe is definitely going into my binder as a keeper!
Did I mention this only took minutes to make?! It's one of the easiest desserts I've made in a long time, AND I got to mark another thing off my Top 100 list!

Baked Rice Pudding (from Better Homes and Gardens: New Baking Book)
8 servings

4 beaten eggs
2 cups milk, half-and-half, or light cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cooked rice, cooled (leftover rice works well)
1/2 to 3/4 cup raisins (I plumped my raisins by simmering them in 2 tablespoons of dark rum for 1 minute. Drain them and let them cool.)
Pinch of lemon zest (about half of a small lemon) (my own addition)
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. In ungreased 2-quart casserole combine eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat until combined but not foamy. Stir in cooked rice and raisins (and lemon zest, if using). Place casserole in a 13x9x2-inch baking dish on an oven rack. Pour boiling water into baking dish around the casserole to a depth of 1 inch.
2. Bake in a 325 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Stir well; sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon. Bake for 20-30 minutes more or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm or cold. To serve cold, cover and chill pudding for up to 3 days.

Nutrition Facts per serving (8): 184 cal., 4 g total fat (2 g sat. fat), 111 mg chol., 130 mg sodium, 31 g carbo., 0 g fiber, 6 g pro.

Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes - 2 Ways!

I'm gonna start a rating system using a scale of 1 to 5. Look for it at the end of each cupcake post.
Here's how it goes:
Moistness: 1 being as dry as Arizona weather - 5 being perfectly moist and delicious
Tenderness: 1 being hard as a rock - 5 being light as air
Frosting: 1 being really gross - 5 being out of this world
(Keep in mind I'm very critical. You might say something is definitely a 5, but I'm a little more harsh and settle on a 4.)

First I feel like I need to say I'm sorry! I know I haven't had a poll in a while. It's mainly because I have 3 cupcake mixes I need to use up. This week I had fully planned on using one of them. That is until it actually became time to bake. I was really in the mood to bake from scratch! I skipped out on Cupcake Hero last month, but when I started seeing everyone's cocoa powder cupcakes I got really jealous! I wanted to use the cocoa I found recently at Ross. So I chose a recipe from Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman. The original recipe calls for the cupcakes to be filled with pudding and topped with whipped cream. I don't really like the idea of a "from scratch" cupcake that has to stay refrigerated (because they tend to dry out and get hard... not yummy). I looked in the freezer and decided to use up some leftover Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (which I don't keep refrigerated once it's on the cupcakes because my mom never did and neither did my grandma and we're still kicking!). DON'T WORRY THOUGH! I did make 5 of them just how the book said too. The pudding in the middle really covers up the dryness they get when refrigerated. They are delicious straight outta the fridge! However, my cupcakes did turn out a little dry and hard even when they weren't refrigerated. I think it's due to the order of the ingredients that are mixed in. I added my own notes to the recipe to ensure that no one else will over mix theirs!

First, whisk the eggs and sugar. Mix in oil and dry ingredients.Add shaved chocolate, cocoa powder, coconut, and milk.

At this point it looks like brownie batter.

Whip egg whites to stiff peaks.

Fold meringue into chocolate coconut batter.

Fill cups 2/3 full and bake.

Cool cupcakes on wire rack.

Frost with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

and garnish with lightly toasted coconut.

Alternately, cut a hole from the center of each cupcake.

Fill each cupcake with pudding.

Top with whipped cream and garnish with whatever's laying around!

Chocolate Coconut Pudding Cupcakes
MAKES 12-14 CUPCAKES

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt, plus pinch for egg whites
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus 2 tablespoons
1 cup shredded coconut, plus 2 tablespoons for topping
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 ounces dark chocolate, grated
1/4 cup milk
Chocolate pudding (instant, ready­ made or homemade)
Whipped cream, for decoration
Powdered chocolate or cocoa powder, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
3. With a whisk or a wooden spoon, mix egg yolks and sugar together. Add oil and then flour mixture, beating until batter is smooth (MY NOTES: Do not mix the flour completely in at this point; You will mix a lot in the following directions. In fact, I suggest stirring in the coconut, cocoa powder, and grated chocolate BEFORE adding the flour and milk. Remember, you still have egg whites to fold in). Mix in coconut, cocoa powder, grated chocolate, and milk and blend well.
4. Using an electric beater, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff but not dry. Gently fold into chocolate batter.
5. Spoon batter into cupcake papers, filling about 2/3 full. Smooth batter with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle a little coconut over each cupcake. Cook for 10 minutes and then lower temperature to 300°F and cook for another 20 minutes (mine were done after only 12 minutes) or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool.
6. When cupcakes are completely cool, cut a circle or cone out of the top with an apple corer and heap chocolate pudding in it. Add a little dollop of whipped cream for decoration. Dust with powdered chocolate or cocoa powder.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 3 (Probably my fault)
Tenderness: 3 (Most likely my fault... I over mixed!)
Frosting: 4