Mississippi Mud Pie ~ Dark & Decadent

This recipe is for hardcore dark chocolate fans.

If you just kinda like chocolate... this will probably be too much for you! Even it you love chocolate, this might be too much for you!

Proceed at your own risk!

This cake definitely does not go together quickly, but I think it's totally worth the time. I did it in one day, but I think doing it in two would have been better.

I found this on Bake Me Blush. You should definitely check it out. Nicole has some great recipes there!



Mississippi Mud Pie

Crust:
16 ounces chocolate sandwich cookies (35-40 cookies) such as Oreos, crushed
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Flourless Chocolate Cake:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
6 ounces good-quality dark chocolate (60-70%), chopped
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/4 cup strong coffee, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 cup sugar

Chocolate Pudding:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks
2 1/2 cups milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 ounces good-quality dark chocolate (60-70%)

To Make Crust:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a food processor, grind cookies to a very fine crumb; you should have about 3 1/2 cups. Put crumbs in a small bowl. Pour melted butter over crumbs and mix with a spatula until well combined.
• Press crumb mixture into bottom and sides of prepared pan, leaving about 1/2 inch between top of crust and top of pan. Smooth evenly with the back of a spoon.
• Let crust set in freezer for 10 minutes. Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Cool.

To Make Flourless Chocolate Cake:

• Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Using a double boiler or microwave, melt butter and chocolate together. Set aside to cool.
• In a small bowl, whisk together espresso powder, coffee, salt, and vanilla. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat eggs with 1/2 cup of the sugar until mixture is light and almost doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. Add chocolate mixture and beat until just combined. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl; mix on low for 5 seconds. Add coffee mixture and beat until just combined. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl; mix on low for 5 seconds.
• In a clean bowl with a whisk attachment or electric mixer, beat the egg whites until foamy. Gradually increase speed to high and add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, beating until soft peaks form.
• Scoop 1 cup of the egg whites into chocolate mixture. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in egg whites. After about 30 seconds of folding, add remaining egg whites and continue folding until almost completely combined; work gently and do not overmix.
• Pour batter onto cooled cookie crust and bake for 38 to 42 minutes or until cake is set but still jiggles slightly; it may not appear to be completely cooked. Allow to cool completely. Cake will deflate in center and look sunken as it cools. Tightly wrap and refrigerate cake for at least 3 hours or overnight.

To Make Chocolate Pudding:

• In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt. Add egg yolks and whisk until combined. Whisking constantly, slowly pour in milk.
• In a saucepan over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil, whisking constantly to prevent burning. Boil for 30 seconds; transfer mixture to a medium bowl.
• Add butter, vanilla, and chocolate; whisk until combined. Continue whisking for a few more minutes to slightly cool mixture. Let pudding stand for 15 minutes at room temperature. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto pudding's surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill for at least 3 hours.

To Assemble Pie:

• Stir pudding to loosen it, then pour it on top of cake, staying inside crust border. Use a spatula to spread pudding into an even layer. Return mud pie to refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Decorate with whipped cream if desired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok... first to make the crust.

You'll need a package of these...


Crush them in the food processor...



Melt the butter...


Combine butter & cookie crumbs...


Pour the cookie crumb & butter mixture into a greased spring form pan...


Press into pan and up to within half an inch of the top of the pan...


Put crust into the freezer for 10 minutes to set. Then bake in oven, preheated to 300F, for 10 minutes. Let crust cool.

Turn the oven up to 350F. Time to make the Flourless Chocolate Cake.

First your Dark Chocolate. I chose a 60%...


Melt 6oz of the chocolate with butter...


Set aside to cool...


Next whisk together espresso powder, coffee, salt, and vanilla; set that aside too...


In a mixer, whisk together egg yolks and 1/2 C of sugar for about 5 minutes...



Add chocolate and beat until just combined...


I have no idea why this looks so red!




Anyway... next... in a clean bowl...

Beat the egg whites until they're foamy...


Slowly add the remaining 1/2 C of sugar and beat until soft peaks form...


Scoop a cup of fluffy egg whites into the chocolate mixture and gently fold in...


Gently fold in the remaining egg whites until just combined...



Pour batter into cooled cookie crust...


Bake for 38 - 42 minutes or until cake is set up still jiggly in the middle... it might not look completely cooked...


Now let that cool completely. It will sink in the middle as it cools. Wrap it tightly and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.

I chose 3 hours... but I think next time, I'd leave it overnight and stop for the day after making the pudding.

Ok... now to make the pudding!

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt...


Add egg yolks...


Whisk until combined...


While whisking constantly, slowly pour in the milk...


Over medium heat, bring it to a boil and keep whisking so it doesn't burn. Boil for 30 seconds and transfer mixture to a bowl.

Add butter, vanilla & chocolate...


Mix until everything is melted together and well combined...


Let it stand for about 15 minutes to cool. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Press the wrap onto the top of the pudding, because nobody like pudding skin... ok... maybe some people like it, but personally, it grosses me out!


Now refrigerate the pudding for 3 hours or overnight. This is a good time to clean the kitchen and call it day!

Ok... so the next day... or three hours later if you're ambitious...

Time to assemble the cake...


Give the pudding a stir to loosen it up bit... then pour it onto the cake, being careful to stay inside the crust edge.


Spread it around to even it out...


Now back into the fridge, for at least 30 more minutes...

Now you can slide it out of the spring form pan...


Look at those gorgeous chocolaty layers...


Now if I hadn't made this cake all in one day, I might have been inclined to decorated it with homemade whipped cream piped through a star tip. Actually, that was my intent. But I made this on Christmas Eve day in between delivering Christmas Cookies and wrapping presents... so I think I was pretty lucky just to get the cake made and ready for Christmas Eve dessert.

So it got a quick squirt of canned whipped cream and I called it done!


Now in my house Jon & Bob have both been asking for Chocolate Cream Pie. I think I knew this might be too chocolaty for Bob, but hoped that the whipped cream would make him like it. It was way too chocolaty for him. Lilly loves dark chocolate, but this was too much for her too. Jon also loves dark chocolate and he really liked it, as did Tawny's boyfriend, Ryan. Too chocolaty for Tawny... and since I don't care for chocolate in general, it was WAY too chocolaty for me.

So like I said at the beginning, you really have to be a hardcore dark chocolate fan to love this pie. That being said, I might try it again with milk chocolate. I think then it would really satisfy all the chocolate lovers in my house.

But more to my taste... I think I'd like to try Nicole's Whiteout Cake. That looks scrumptious!!