A few years ago, I had opportunity to volunteer making meals for the Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City. That was one of my first instances of using food to comfort and connect. Jeff and I weren’t quite married and I was one of the youngest women in the Chief’s Women’s Organization.
We made a Mexican themed feast and concluded the meal with these crispy spiced chocolate cookies. They cayenne provides a slight warmth in your mouth as the chocolate lends a sweet and decadent taste to the cookie. I wanted to recreate that same experience but in a different vehicle.
That’s when these individual Chocolate Pudding Pies were introduced. You have a rich chocolate pudding laced with a little chili powder (and cayenne) nestled in a nice graham cracker crust served cold with a dollop of whipped cream. Talk about indulgent!
I liked the idea of an individual pie per guest because they aren’t going to want to share! You can purchase these little pie dishes or just use some reasonably sized ramekins.
Make sure to plan ahead and get dessert whipped up and chilling in the fridge so it has time to set.
A homemade chocolate pudding is really easy to make. No box mix needed. Now if you’re short on time, I suppose it will work, I just encourage you to try it on your own first!
Slightly Spicy Mexican Chocolate Pie
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 6 mini pies
A rich chocolate pudding warmed up with a little chili powder, nestled in a nice graham cracker crust served cold with a dollop of whipped cream.
Ingredients
Crust
1 1/2 C graham crackers , crushed
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 egg white
2 tbsp butter, melted
Chocolate Pudding
2 C milk
1 egg
1 yolk
1/2 C sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp espresso
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder
2 oz dark chocolate
Garnish with:
1 1/2 C whipped toping
dark chocolate shavings (optional)
graham cracker crumbs (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Pulse all the ingredients for the crust in a food processor till crumbly.
- Gently press crumb mixture into baking containers. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.
- In a large sauce pot, Warm milk on med- high heat. DO NOT BOIL.
- Temper* with other mix (That means take about 1/4 C of milk and add it to the egg mixture. Whisk till combined) Add back to the sauce pot. Let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and add the dark chocolate. Stir till melted all the way.
- Fill each pie crust with pudding mixture and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Top with whipped topping and a dash of chili powder if brave!
Notes
* You want to temper the mixture to avoid scrambling your eggs. By tempering, you slowly bring up the temperature of the other mixture before you add it to the pot.
Courses Dessert
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