Chocolate Cinnamon Cream Pie: 2000s Recipes + Menus : gourmet.com

2000s Recipes + Menus

Serves8

Active time:30 min
Start to finish:3 1/2 hr

November 2008

We love the cinnamon in Mexican chocolate. For this pie, we surround a smooth chocolate-pudding filling with cinnamon—a crumbly spiced graham cracker crust below and cinnamon whipped cream on top.

View more of our favorite recipes from this issue.

For crust

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs (from about twelve 5- by 2 1/2-inch crackers)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

For filling

6 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (no more than 60% cacao if marked)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar, divided
2 whole large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For whipped cream

1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream
5 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For chocolate curls

1 (3- to 4-inch-thick) chunk bittersweet chocolate

Make crust:

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Stir together all crust ingredients. Press over bottom and up side of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake until set, 12 to 15 minutes, then cool.

Make filling:

Melt chocolate in a large bowl (see Tips).
Stir together cornstarch and 2 Tbsp brown sugar in a small bowl.
Whisk together whole eggs and yolks in another bowl, then whisk in cornstarch mixture.
Stir together milk, cream, salt, and remaining brown sugar in a heavy medium saucepan and bring just to a boil over medium heat. Pour half of milk mixture into egg mixture in a slow stream, whisking, then pour egg mixture into remaining milk mixture. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking, 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into melted chocolate and whisk to combine.
Transfer hot filling to crust and chill, its surface covered with parchment, until filling is cold, about 3 hours.

Make whipped cream:

Beat cream with confectioners sugar and cinnamon using an electric mixer until it holds stiff peaks. Spoon over chilled filling.

Make chocolate curls:

Hold chocolate in your hands (or microwave on low power in 10-second intervals) until surface softens slightly. Using a vegetable peeler (preferably Y-shaped), “peel” large chocolate curls onto a paper towel. If curls are too brittle or don’t form easily, rewarm chocolate just until surface softens.
Sprinkle curls on pie.

Cooks’ notes:

Crust can be baked 2 days ahead and kept, loosely covered with foil (once cool), at room temperature.
Pie can be chilled, loosely covered with plastic wrap (once cold), up to 1 day.

Recipe by Lillian Chou

Photograph by Ditte Isager