The recipe for the Oreo® cookie piecrust is provided later in this section. You can use a conventional piecrust instead, and that is very good also, but I prefer the Oreo® cookie piecrust with chocolate cream pie. It is a matter of complementary flavors and textures.
Note that you can skip the pudding and the chocolate in the recipe below and instead use the Food Nirvana recipe for Ray's Triple Chocolate Pudding, and it provides deep and rich chocolate flavor, far better than trying to enhance Jello® chocolate pudding with additional chocolate.
Ingredients:
1 Oreo® cookie (or conventional baked) pie shell in a 9 or 10 inch pie plate
1 large (5 oz.) box of Jello® Chocolate pudding that must be cooked. Do not use instant pudding.
2 oz. of 72% cacao dark chocolate bar or ½ cup of Ghirardelli® Premium Double Chocolate Cocoa Mix
1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk
1 cup of whole milk
½ cup of heavy cream for the pudding
1 cup of heavy cream for the whipped cream topping
2 tbsp. of sugar for the whipped cream topping
1 tbsp. of vanilla for the pudding
1 tbsp. of vanilla for the whipped cream topping
Directions:
Refrigerate the Oreo® cookie or conventional already baked piecrust.
Put the pudding mix into a 2 quart heavy saucepan like the French kind used for making cream sauces and candy. Break up the chocolate bar into small pieces about ½ inch by ½ inch and add them to the pudding mix, or add the powdered Ghirardelli® cocoa mix.
Add the evaporated milk, whole milk and ½ cup of heavy cream while stirring to mix the dry pudding mix and chocolate or cocoa mix with the liquid ingredients. Add the vanilla and stir. Note that commercial pudding mixes lack sufficient chocolate and that is why we added more here. Vanilla was added for complementary flavor.
Bring the pudding to a light boil on medium heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. During heating all of the pieces of chocolate bar (if used) should melt and blend completely with the other ingredients. When the pudding is bubbling slowly on most of the surface it is done cooking and it should be removed from the heat. Transfer the pudding from the saucepan to a small glass bowl that barely holds the pudding, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it into the refrigerator to thoroughly chill the pudding. This will take at least one hour, more likely two hours.
The thoroughly chilled pudding is now ready for the pie shell. Spoon the pudding into the chilled pie shell, smooth it out evenly, and cover the pie with plastic wrap and return it to the refrigerator.
Put your mixing bowl and whisk attachment for your electric mixer into the freezer 15 minutes before you plan to use them to make the whipped cream topping for the pie.
Immediately before serving the pie whip one cup of heavy cream at high speed in the chilled bowl using your electric mixer with the chilled whisk attachment. When soft peaks begin to form add two tbsp. of sugar and one tbsp. of vanilla and continue mixing at high speed until firm peaks form.
Remove the plastic wrap cover from the pie and spread the whipped cream evenly over the surface.
Serve.