My little Fuzzle cat has gone missing without a trace. She’s been gone since this past Tuesday. She’s the kitty in the first picture I put on this blog, who was there with me last Thanksgiving when I made my first pie. She is heaven-knows-where.  It makes me sad as I write this post. I want pie to associate with happiness and The Yum. But I cannot help wonder where she went, how she went and whether she’s ok, or at peace. Fuzzle, I hope you come home. And if you do you’re grounded.

Today, I decided to try a recipe from Kate Orenberg’s Summer of Pie blog here on WordPress. It won’t be the last. She’s got the pie thing going on. This weeks selection is Death by Chocolate pie. And people, it’s Chocolate. The crust is a brownie, the filling is chocolate pudding (home-made of course) and the topping is a chocolate ganache and chocolate whipped cream topping. It’s also garnished with chocolate:) Please note the recipe is copied almost in its entire original form. She’s also a sharp writer. Thanks, Kate.

The crust!:

(From King Arthur Flour’s “The Best Fudge Brownies Ever.”)

8 oz. (one stick) butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tbsp. vanilla

2 large eggs

3/4 cups flour

6 oz mini chocolate chips

Butter and flour a 9″ deep dish (2 – 2 1/2″ deep) pie pan.

In a medium-sized microwave safe bowl melt the butter. Add sugar and stir until combined. Stir in cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla. Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Add the flour and chips, and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, being care to bring it up the sides and over the top slightly. Make as thin a layer as you can as the batter will rise in the oven.

Place in the refrigerator for 30 min – 1 hour to set.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Line chilled crust with greased parchment paper, pressing it firmly but gently against the sides; fill with weights. Bake for 20 minutes or until sides are set. Remove the parchment and weights and bake for another 8-15 minutes. Set aside to cool. I baked at 8 because the crust started to burn. I’ll take undercooked brownie to burned brownie any day:)

The filling!:

Adapted from “Recipe of the week: Blackout Cake: Brooklyn’s long-lost dessert”

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup half-and-half

1/2 cup whole milk

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 tsp cocoa liqueur or vanilla extract

Combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, half-and-half in medium saucepan, slowly whisk in milk over medium heat. Switch to a heat-proof spatula and stir constantly until mixture thickens and begins to bubble, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately stir in chocolate, continue stirring until all chocolate is melted (place on low heat if pudding is too cold to fully melt the chocolate). Stir in liqueur or vanilla, and pour into prepared crust. Refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day. My vote is 2 hours…

Ganache!:

12 oz heavy whipping cream

8 oz. bittersweet (like my mood) chocolate, chopped

Heat 6 oz of cream in a small saucepan over medium/low heat until steaming, but not boiling. While cream heats, chop chocolate into small pieces (fine) and place in heat-proof mixing bowl. When cream is steaming, pour onto the chocolate. Mix until thoroughly combined and allow to cool to room temperature. You want the ganache to set up a little so it’s no longer liquid, but not so set up as it would be difficult to fold into the whipped cream.

In a separate bowl, whip the remaining cream until it holds stiff peaks. Fold into chocolate mixture, then gently spoon into chilled crust. Wrap in plastic and chill overnight or for at least 3 hours.

I only used 4 oz. of the bittersweet chocolate. I’m glad I did. The ganache almost ran off the top of the pie. Delicious but messy. I’m also a poor judge of determining how thick the ganache should be before folding in the whipped cream.

The whipped cream!:

12 oz. heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tbsp. rum

3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup powdered sugar

Pour cold cream into a large bowl. Add vanilla and rum. Sift in cocoa powder and sugar. Blend with a hand mixer on low until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated; whip on high until cream has the consistency of a soft frosting. Spread gently on top of pie.

Decorate with a handful of mini chocolate chips, grated chocolate, or dusted cocoa powder. Chill until ready to serve.

This pie is, ummmm, chocolatey. Super delicious if you are a fanatic about chocolate. And I am.

They say chocolate cures the blues. I’m going to need to eat the whole thing myself in order to get over the sadness of the loss of my beautiful, flame-point Siamese kitty. Good night Fuzzle. Wherever you are…