bitter-sweet chocolate pie

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*Please note, you will need two things for this pie: a fine-meshed sieve, for straining the pudding; and four hours' lead time waiting for the pudding to chill (plus the patience of a saint) okay that may be three things.

Graham cracker crust:
9 graham crackers (1 sleeve or 5 ounces)
2 tablespoons sugar sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted and warm

Chocolate Cream Filling:

8 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2" cubes and chilled
3 1/2 cups half-and-half
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
9 egg yolks
11 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 teaspoons instant espresso or coffee (if desired)
1 1/2 teaspoon good vanilla extract

Whipped Cream Topping:

2 cups heavy cream
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 tsp. good vanilla extract

Shaved bittersweet chocolate, to garnish

Place oven rack in middle position, and preheat oven to 325°.

Roughly break graham cracker, then pulverize to a fine powder in a food processor, about 30 seconds.  Add sugar, and pulse briefly to combine.  Add melted butter through feed tube in a slow, steady stream, pulsing as you go to combine, until mixture resembles wet sand, you know like at the ocean.

Transfer the crumbs to a 9" glass pie plate.  Spread lightly to distribute, then gently and firmly press crumbs into bottom and up sides of pie plate, using your hands. It will be kinda loose, but will firm up considerably as it bakes.  Bake 15-18 minutes, until your kitchen is filled with yummy smells, and the crust is lightly browned.  Cool completely while making the filling. 

Heat half-and-half in a 4 quart saucepan over medium-high heat, until it's steaming and just barely reaches a simmer.  Remove pan from heat.  In a large bowl, whisk together 2/3 cup of the sugar and the cornstarch.  Add egg yolks, and whisk until smooth.  Slowly, steadily, drizzle hot half-and-half into the egg yolk-sugar mixture, whisking constantly, until smooth.  (This will temper the egg yolks, to prevent them from scrambling).  Return tempered yolk/half-and-half mixture to the large saucepan, and heat over medium heat, stirring often, until bubbles rise to the surface and mixture is very thick and pudding-like, 3-4 minutes.  Remove pan from heat, and to the hot pudding mixture, slowly, in batches, add the 8 tablespoons of cold butter and the 11 ounces chopped chocolate, whisking until smooth.  Whisk in instant espresso, if using, until smooth.  Stir in the 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla. 

Set a fine-meshed sieve over a deep bowl, and strain chocolate mixture.  Pour pudding into strainer in batches, and press with a spatula to smoosch through.  This is fussy but fast, and is key to achieving that sublime creamy texture.  You'll see when your done all the inevitable cornstarch lumps and eggy bits left behind in the strainer, which is such a much better place for them than the pie. Cover filling with plastic wrap, pressing down right to the surface to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.  

When filling is firm, remove plastic wrap and stir until smooth.  Spoon chilled filling into cooled crust, forming a dome in the center with a rubber spatula for a more polished look, or piling it high in the middle for a more casual affair.

In a large bowl, whip the cream, sugar and vanilla until soft but strong-ish peaks form.  Dollop cream on top of filling, as much as you dare, and with a peeler, shave a little additional chocolate over all, if you fancy.

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enjoy!