Lighter texture for chocolate pie
I've used the recipe below to make chocolate pie a few times recently:
- 1 c heavy cream
- 1/2 milk
- 8-10 oz chocolate
- 2 tbsp sugar
- pinch salt
- 2 eggs
Heat the milk/cream over low heat until it just starts to simmer. Remove from heat, add chocolate, sugar, and salt and stir until smooth. Lightly beat the eggs and temper in with the chocolate mixture. Pour into crust (usually graham cracker) and bake 20-30 minutes at 325 degrees until set.
It tastes great, but after the pie cools the filling becomes very dense almost like a fudge. Sometimes this is fine, but sometimes I'd like it to have a lighter texture almost like a pudding. How should I modify the recipe to do this?
Best Answer
This is a basic chocolate custard filling.
The one thing I would suggest is changing out the whole eggs for egg yolks only, at a ratio of about 2-3 yolks per cup of dairy, so 3-4 egg yolks in this recipe. This should yield a more tender and silky custard, as the whites tend to contribute a more rubbery or resilient texture.
Even so, the original proportions do not look that far off. A custard pie like this one should be able to be sliced when cool, and the slices should hold their shape without slumping. That does require a certain amount of strength in the custard.
You might wish to look for recipes based on a mousse filling, which is not baked in the shell, such as this one from Epicurious.
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Why is my chocolate cream pie grainy?
"My chocolate mousse is often grainy." Be careful to reheat your chocolate mixture slightly before you incorporate the whipped egg whites or whipped cream. If the mixture has already cooled and you add a large quantity of egg whites or cold cream, the chocolate hardens and forms grains.Why does my chocolate pie get runny?
You need to cook the filling long enough so the mixture coagulates (that happens at 160 degrees), but if you cook it too long, and don't stir the mixture enough (stirring keeps the temperature down), you'll overcook the custard: Overcooking breaks down those all-important proteins, and that's when the weeping starts.How do you thicken chocolate pie filling?
chocolate pie filling: I use both egg yolks and cornstarch to thicken the chocolate pie filling in this recipe. The egg yolks get tempered and added to the hot pudding filling, helping to thicken it. The cornstarch adds an additional thickening agent to help the pie set up even better.How do you get lumps out of chocolate pie?
On medium heat, cook while stirring until it bubbles and thickens, about 5 to 10 minutes. If it becomes lumpy, just beat out the lumps. (It will not get any thicker in the oven so cook until it's as thick as you want it.)Lighter Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
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Answer 2
If you want the texture to be more like pudding, you could try replacing some of the chocolate with cocoa powder or chocolate syrup. When the chocolate cools, the fat will harden again, contributing to a firmer texture. Alternately, you could try either adding more liquid or reducing the egg. For instance, if you used one whole egg and one yolk, instead of two whole eggs, it reduces the amount of egg protein that will thicken the final dish, allowing for a more fluid texture.
If you just want it to be lighter, you could whip either the cream or the egg whites to a foam before incorporating them into the rest of the dish.
Answer 3
the option not yet suggested is to change the chocolate, using some coca powder or hot chocolate mix instead...but that would require trial and error as I have no idea what ratio to suggest
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