Chocolate Cream Pie: A Herne Family Favorite!

 Yes, I'm repeating this because it's not only a family favorite, it's one of my favorite pies. 

You need one 9" pie shell baked or cookie... your choice! 

Dark Chocolate Pudding

3 Tablespoons butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup cocoa
dash salt
1/3 cup corn starch
3 cups milk
3 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla

In 3 quart saucepan, melt butter. Remove from heat.

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add to butter. Mix with spoon.

Whisk in milk and eggs.

Return to heat, medium heat, stir or whisk until boiling. Boil and stir about one minute. Remove from heat. Whisk in vanilla. Chill Completely.

If you like the skin on pudding, don't cover it. But if you don't like the skin, take a piece of plastic wrap and place it right on top of the pudding while it's hot. The plastic wrap will keep the "fat" from rising and forming the skin, and you'll have skinless pudding when it's chilled!  Fill pie shell with the pudding.... and then if you want to top the whole thing with homemade Whipped Cream, here you go!

Whipped Cream:

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar.

Whip at high speed until stiff.

I love it!  The homemade custard and then topped with whipped cream (homemade or from a can or if you love Cool Whip-type toppings, go for it!

I raised my children on Dream Pie.

You know the one. Or if you don't, I'll tell you. You take a mystery box of Dream Whip, whip it with cold milk (not fresh from the cow, raw milk won't work, and I'm not sure what that says about the chemicals in Dream Whip!) until it's stiff then add in a couple of boxes of dark chocolate pudding, 3 1/2 cups of milk and beat until thick.... And then pile into a prepared pie shell. Chill.

I loved the commercials for Dream Pies... and the magazines had them EVERY SPRING (lemon) and EVERY HOLIDAY (chocolate) So it wasn't until the kids were teens that I started making my own chocolate custard.

REVOLT!!!!!!

They wanted Dream Pie. 

I tried reasoning with them.

Nope. Dream Pie.

I showed them the list of mega-multi-syllable chemicals.

Still Dream Pie.

I scowled.

Got nothing but wrinkles.

And so I still make Dream Pie. Did you know you can make it with Cool Whip instead of Dream Whip? SHH.... Don't tell. State secret!!!!!

But for people who love a non-chemical absolutely melt-in-your-mouth delicious pie, the homemade chocolate cream pie is the answer. Fortunately some of my children got married.

Their spouses love the real deal. The non-chemically-induced pie.

So one by one I'm gaining favor. Fortunately I am a very patient person. And I never give up.

I will win the war eventually while conceding many battles. And none of this "Oh, as long as they're happy" nonsense. 

You and I both know that they should come to the light! 

But in the meantime that just means there's more really good pie for me!

Multi-published inspirational novelist Ruth Logan Herne is blessed to be doing exactly what she always dreamed/wanted/hoped to be doing as long as the good Lord gave her enough time. 

Well here she is! With over 60 novels and novellas published, Ruthy loves chatting with people, sharing her stories, bossing folks around and takes her know-it-all nature to extremes at times, but if you dig deep...

REALLY REALLY DEEP...

She's nice some of the time and she loves getting to know readers. Friend Ruthy on Facebook, hang out here with her and some of her wonderful author buds, stop by her website ruthloganherne.com or email Ruthy at loganherne@gmail.com. And yes, she actually answers her own email... :)