Today is
National Raspberry Cream Pie Day, but what's a
raspberry cream pie without chocolate?
One of my favorite recipes is from
Bon Appetit (July 2004) aka
Epicurious for
Black Bottom Raspberry Cream Pie. The
"black bottom" is a layer of
chocolate pudding.. and as a bonus there's a
chocolate cookie crust. Be sure and chill the pie overnight before adding the topping.
As far as berries go, any great organic raspberry works. I love
Driscoll's berries because they're always good. This is
raspberry season, so pick up a few pints today and make this incredible pie to celebrate. No time to make this delicious pie?
Dance the Black Bottom! See video below.
FYI: This recipe is also a great black bottom 'anything' recipe: bananas and other fruit go very well with it, too.
Black Bottom Raspberry Cream Pie
Crust
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 3/4 cups crushed chocolate wafer cookies (about 30 cookies from one 9-ounce package)
1/2 cup sweet butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
Filling
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 1/2 cups whole milk, divided
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg
4 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sweet butter
Topping
3 1/2-pint containers raspberries
1 cup chilled whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For crust:
Spray 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish with nonstick
spray.
Blend cookie crumbs, butter, and sugar in medium bowl.
Press
mixture evenly over bottom and up sides (not on rim) of prepared dish.
Chill crust 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake crust until set, about 10 minutes, then cool.
For filling:
Combine sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch in heavy medium
saucepan; whisk to blend well.
Gradually add 1/4 cup milk, whisking
until cornstarch dissolves.
Whisk in remaining 2 1/4 cups milk, then egg
yolks and egg.
Stir over medium-high heat until pudding thickens and
boils, about 8 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Add chocolate and butter;
whisk until melted and smooth.
Spread pudding in prepared crust. Press
plastic wrap onto pudding to cover and chill pie overnight.
For topping:
Peel plastic wrap off pie.
Cover chocolate layer with
raspberries, pointed side up, pressing lightly into chocolate to adhere
(some berries will be left over).
Beat cream, sugar, and vanilla in
medium bowl until peaks form; spread over berries on pie.
Arrange
remaining berries atop cream.
Chill pie at least 1 hour and up to 4
hours.
And, the dance sensation that started it all: The Black Bottom. In this video, the Varsity Drag title is in error. The Black Bottom replaced "The Charleston" as the next most popular
dance of the 1920's. Released June 28, 1926. Written by Buddy De Sylva,
Lew Brown and Ray Henderson. Black bottom dancing was for the young and
energetic. This song and style of dancing were popular in the1920's.
