Chocolate Mousse Pie

This, to me, is the ultimate in chocolate desserts – for three reasons. Firstly, it is VERY chocolatey with a creamy, silky consistency to die for – rich, smooth, velvety – perfection in other words. Secondly, it requires only four ingredients and can be put together with the most minimal effort. Thirdly, it is very adaptable – one can serve it as mousse, cake, pie and with various toppings as well. One recipe. Many possibilities.

While most of the small circle I cook for loves chocolate, there are exceptions. A very dear friend of mine, for example, loves dessert AND chocolate but likes only mild chocolate flavour (as I discovered from his facial expression when he tasted, and bravely finished, a slice of this intensely chocolatey pie). The extent of the chocolate flavour can also be easily adapted and I will explain the different variations below the recipe.

If one lives in the United States, this recipe is truly easy-peasy. (In India, it will require a little more work – I have not tested this with Indian ingredients, but I will make suggestions – do try it and leave comments below as to how it comes out.) I have shamelessly carried, and asked my husband to carry, the necessary ingredients for this dish on flights (pre-COVID, of course), so that I can make them in India as well to the exact taste I remember! As someone said, food snob. 🙂

This does require a specific appliance – an electric hand mixer as shown in the photograph below. It makes short work of this really easy-to-put-together dessert.

The inspiration for this recipe came from a graham cracker mousse cake made my good friend Gita Sathianathan of Irvine CA. Gita indulged my children and me so much in the short time we were both in the same location – she organised the nicest get-togethers and would take extra trouble to make and locate desserts that were eggless AND decadent, just for me, the extra fussy, conspicuous jelly fish (in Captain Haddock’s words).

Ingredients:

1 ready-made Oreo Cookie Pie Crust (can be made from scratch too – try this recipe – https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/easy-oreo-cookie-crust-recipe/. Note that in India, oreos have less cream within, so more butter might be required)

1 pint (16oz or 2 cups) heavy whipping cream

1 packet (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Heat the cream on low heat.

Add the chocolate chips to the warm cream.

Stir continuously until chips are fully melted and homogeneously incorporated into the cream – stove can be on throughout – on low heat, mind you.

Let cool at room temperature. Add vanilla extract. Mix well. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Whip cream mixture with electric beaters (shown in earlier photograph) until the mixture is stiff such that it maintains its shape. Do not keep whipping after this. There IS such as thing as over whipping.

Scoop into pie crust and level it smoothly. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before devouring.

Optional: – top with mini chocolate chips, butter brickle chips, sliced almonds, oreo cookies – whatever catches your fancy.

NOTES: Whipped Cream in India: Amul has now added a new item called Amul Whipping Cream in tetrapack, different from its Fresh Cream tetrapack. Please use this Whipping Cream variety.

Do note that cream has to be very cold before whipping – which is why the chocolate cream mixture has to be refrigerated well before whipping. To cool it a little faster, open the tetrapack, pour into a metal pan and refrigerate.

If you want a less intense chocolate flavour, use milk chocolate chips. You can also use just plain cream with some sugar added and some cocoa powder mixed in. It will, of course, have a less silken texture. You can also have plain cream accented with vanilla and sugar to taste – for those who do not like chocolate at all or are allergic.

You can serve it as is in a bowl as just mousse. Or you can spread it between layers of cake for a unique indulgence. You can also layer it in between layers of graham crackers. That gives a very nice and interesting texture too.

I hope you try it! I will look forward to your comments below.