Baking for the Baking Challenged: Betty's Chocolate Cream Pie

I don't bake...well, I do, sometimes, but I probably shouldn't. I can't even warm a loaf of bread without burning it...Kyle will attest to that. Cooking's more my thing- you can just throw whatever sounds good in a pot without measuring, and call it dinner. With baking, there's all that "preciseness" that I'm definitely not good with. I'm not really precise about much. As hard as I try- I'm alway a few minutes late (I hate that), I can't cut a straight line to save my life and I can't seem to follow through with the whole laundry process. Ya know- wash, dry, fold AND put away. I would like to think of myself as just a laid-back, free spirit...yea yea...I'll just keep telling myself that so all of the above will be okay in my mind. So- while I probably shouldn't bake, I love the challenge. I love the finished product. It makes me feel a little more like a REAL mom. And every once in a while I am actually proud of the results- although, I definitely did a few of my usual dummy moves while baking this pie. It didn't matter though because in the end this pie was awesome- if I must say so myself. I couldn't believe how much my boys LOVED it. They couldn't wait for desert and my oldest even said it was better than cookies or cupcakes. WOW! That makes me smile! So- here it is, my favorite pie EVER- please try...you'll be glad you did.

My goal was to make two pies...since the package came with two...I never said I made the crust from scratch too!

Dummy move #1: I forgot to double the recipe.............idiot!

I was pretty sure I had done something wrong because I thought the chocolate was NEVER gonna melt. Talk about stirring. This is the problem with me- I don't read ahead- I didn't realize that cream pies meant standing over the stove for like 25 minutes...stirring.

Oh- the goodness.

My pies before setting in the fridge.

Dummy move #2: Not really sure if it's my fault or not- but the pie crust in the back didn't bake right. It was all bubbled up on one side and looked completely ridiculous. Geez- I can't even make a pre-made pie crust right. I guess this didn't matter anyway- refer to Dummy Move #1. I did though pour a little in the crazy crust because I thought the first pie was full enough.
My lovely cookbook given to me by my favorite Aunt Paula as a shower gift approximately 7 years ago.

Don't look too close- the crust is doing something kind of funky on the bottom- but mmmaaaan was it good. I even fancied it up by shaving a little chocolate on top. Aint she pretty.

And if you don't believe me on the wonderfulness of this pie...just ask him. Faces don't lie!

Betty's Chocolate Cream Pie

Pastry for one-crust pie- I used store bought

4 large egg yolks

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate

1 cup sweetened whipped cream

1. Bake pastry

2. Beat egg yolks with fork in med. bowl; set aside. Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in 2-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in milk and then cut up chocolate. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.

3. Immediately stir at least half of the hot mixture gradually into egg yolks, then stir back into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Pour into pie crust. Press plastic wrap on filling to prevent a tough layer from forming on top. Refrigerate at least 2 hours until set.

4. Remove plastic wrap. Top pie with sweetened whipped cream (I added some chocolate shavings). Cover and refrigerate cooled pie until serving. Store covered in refrigerator.

Sweetened Whipped Cream

for one cup

Beat 1/2 cup whipping (heavy) cream and 1 tablespoon granulated or powdered sugar in chilled small bowl with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.