Recipe: The Pie Hole’s Spiced Hot Chocolate Pie

Mexican hot chocolate meets pie in this inventive recipe by Rebecca Grasley, co-founder of The Pie Hole and author of “Pie is Messy.”

This recipe was inspired by a tasting held by The Pie Hole for family and friends prior to the opening of their first bakeshop in Los Angeles’ Arts District. According to Rebecca Grasley, Pie Hole co-founder and author of the new “Pie is Messy” cookbook (Ten Speed Press, $28), a Mexican restaurant heard about the new pie shop and asked the founders to consider developing a pie for them.

“We wondered how we could incorporate Mexican flavors and ingredients into a pie.” That collaboration never happened, but we did get our delicious spiced chocolate pie,” she writes.

The bakery version has a chocolate ganache filling spiked with pasilla peppers and cinnamon, but the new cookbook’s home cook-friendly version has vanilla pudding mixed with cinnamon-spiced chocolate.

Spiced Hot Chocolate Pie

Makes one 9-inch pie

INGREDIENTS

12 Moe’s Piecrust Recipe

Filling:

4 quarts whole milk

2 tbsp seasoned butter

four egg yolks

1 granulated sugar cup

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 kosher salt pinch

2 tsp. vanilla extract

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3 oz. Abuelita brand chocolate (approximately 212 triangles)

Whipped espresso cream:

1 quart heavy cream

3 tbsp. confectioner’s sugar

a half teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon instant coffee

Optional garnish: chocolate curls

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Roll out the pie crust and place it in a 9-inch pie pan. To prevent the crust from bubbling, poke holes in the bottom and sides with the tines of a fork. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown, after trimming and fluting the edges. Allow to cool completely.

To make the filling, heat the milk and butter in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts.

melts.

Pour the pudding into the cooled piecrust and cool for 2 hours on a wire rack before refrigerating for at least another 2 hours.

To make the espresso whipped cream, beat the cream with an electric mixer on medium speed until it begins to thicken. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until the cream holds soft peaks. Continue to beat in the confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and espresso powder until stiff but not grainy.

Serve each pie slice with a dollop of whipped cream.

“Pie is Messy” by Rebecca Grasley (Ten Speed Press, $28).