Not long ago I came across a pie with an incredibly evocative name that I just couldn't walk past!)) The popular American "Mississippi mud pie" — legend has it that the name comes from the appearance of the muddy banks of the Mississippi River. There's no single definitive recipe, as is often the case: it can be a brownie base topped with nuts and glaze, or a cake along the lines of a Triple Chocolate cake, or the popular version — a cream pie based on pastry cream. I went with the last option. The crust is the same as for cheesecakes — made from cookies; you can use chocolate cookies right away, or do what I did and use plain cookies with a little extra cocoa added. For the filling I made an egg yolk pastry cream to which I added butter, which makes the cream firm up nicely once set, and of course chocolate, which gives a rich chocolate flavor and also adds stability to the cream. It turned out absolutely delicious! Even my husband, who isn't a big fan of chocolate baked goods, ate it and couldn't stop raving about it. When I pointed out, "but you don't even like chocolate desserts," he declared, "well, this is good chocolate dessert")) And my mom said it's the best gift you could give a chocoholic! It's just so, so good. I highly recommend it!
Ingredients:
- Crust:
- 300 g shortbread cookies
- 100 g butter
- 50 g nuts (optional)
- 1 tbsp cocoa (heaping)
- Filling:
- 600 ml milk
- 120 g sugar
- 120 g butter
- 120 g chocolate (I used 56%)
- 40 g starch (I used cornstarch)
- 20 g cocoa
- 3 egg yolks
- a pinch of salt
- For decoration (optional):
- whipped heavy cream, nuts, chocolate
How to cook Mississippi mud pie
Make the crust. Blend the nuts in a food processor (I used hazelnuts and cashews); nuts are optional.
Melt the butter (I melt it in the microwave). Pour in the melted butter and process everything together once more.
Pour the crumb mixture into your pan — mine is 22 cm (if desired, set aside a small handful of crumbs for decoration). Press the crumbs firmly into the bottom, building up medium-height sides. Place the pan in an oven preheated to 160°C and bake for 10–15 minutes. Then let it cool completely.
Prepare the filling. Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, starch, cocoa, salt, and about 100 ml of the milk until completely smooth with no lumps.
Pour the hot milk into the chocolate mixture, whisking vigorously. Then pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
Cook, stirring constantly (especially along the bottom), until very noticeably thickened. I alternate between a whisk and a silicone spatula. The cream will be very thick.
Break up the chocolate and add the butter cut into pieces. Melt together in a double boiler or in the microwave (I use the microwave).
Add the pastry cream and whisk thoroughly until smooth and uniform. Both mixtures should be hot — that way they'll come together easily. Let the finished cream cool completely.
Spread the cream into the baked crust, and if you like, recreate the muddy banks of the Mississippi on top))
Refrigerate the pie for several hours, but ideally overnight — that way the cream fully sets and the pie will slice cleanly. Side view.
I don't have a very clear picture of what those muddy Mississippi banks actually look like, but to me it conjures something rugged, rough, and chaotic)) So I decorated the pie with whipped heavy cream, randomly scattered the reserved cookie crumbs on top along with roughly chopped hazelnuts and chocolate. I also left the edges of the pie intentionally messy)) I think it turned out quite atmospheric))
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