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In December’s issues of Bon Appetit magazine, it featured a year in review of the best recipes of the year. The winner last year was a chocolate pudding pie, Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pie with Creme Fraiche Topping, as the official title of the dessert dish. This one little dish is what started our chocolate posts. Enjoy our recreation of the dish.

First, I will share the recipe:

Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pie

Ingredients

Crust:
1 cup chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (about half of one 9-ounce package; about 23 cookies, finely ground in processor)

2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (60% cacao), finely chopped

Filling:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups whole milk, divided
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
(60% cacao), finely chopped
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
1 cup chilled crème fraîche*
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Bittersweet chocolate shavings or curls (optional)

Preparation

Crust:
Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Blend cookie crumbs and sugar in processor. Add melted butter; process until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and up sides (not rim) of 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Bake until crust begins to set and no longer looks moist, pressing gently with back of fork if crust puffs, about 12 minutes. Remove crust from oven, then sprinkle chopped chocolate over bottom of crust. Let stand until chocolate softens, 1 to 2 minutes. Using offset spatula or small rubber spatula, spread chocolate over bottom and up sides of crust to cover. Chill crust until chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.

Filling:
Whisk sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt to blend in heavy medium saucepan. Gradually add 1/3 cup milk, whisking until smooth paste forms. Whisk in remaining milk, then 1/4 cup cream. Using flat-bottom wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, stir mixture constantly over medium heat, scraping bottom and sides of pan until pudding thickens and begins to bubble at edges, about 5 minutes. Add chocolate; stir until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; stir in rum and vanilla. Pour hot pudding into crust and spread evenly. Cool 1 hour at room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap; chill overnight. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.

Topping:
Using electric mixer, beat crème fraîche, whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl just until stiff peaks form and mixture is thick enough to spread (do not overbeat or mixture may curdle). Spread topping decoratively over top of pie, swirling to create peaks, if desired. DO AHEAD: Pie can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate.

Sprinkle chocolate shavings decoratively atop pie, if desired. Cut pie into wedges and serve.

Now that you have seen the recipe, I know what you may be thinking about our photos. “You don’t have a chocolate crust!” Well, we had some leftover pie crusts from Christmas and to shave some time on the preparation, we would use one and see if it had an impact. It made it more traditional, but I think next time we will use the recipe’s crust.

The recipe’s pudding says it takes about 5 minutes to “boil.” Do not believe this statement. It took my pot about 15 minutes before it was perfect. Once it was off the heat, remember to keep stirring the finished product because you will get a cocoa film on top. When the crust and pudding was cooled, the scent of the crust and the chocolate combined was out of this world.

Our next step was the topping. While the pie was needed to be cooled, we made the special trip to AJsfor a supply of Creme Fraiche. We were told this was only found in “specialty shops,” and between Pancetta at Fry’s and exotic cheeses found anywhere around town, we were bewildered to see that it was in short supply in Phoenix. The best part about it was that it was affordable.

When everything was said and done, the patience of the cooling and settling of the pudding, the topping was made, the end result is the best chocolate pie you will ever eat! Not too sweet, a slight tartness with the dark chocolate, and the mellowness of the cream and crust makes this a divine pie. I cannot wait to try the cookie crust to see if the results are the same. If you have the ability to make this pie, I wholeheartedly recommend that you try this pie! If you have tried this before, let me know!

Enjoy!

(Now, doesn’t that look good?)