
Around Christmas, I find my consumption of chocolate goes up by, well, a lot. And even though I love a good square of dark chocolate or a truffle, sometimes I need chocolate in dessert form.

I’ve wanted to make chocolate cream pie since I saw it on Julie & Julia and thought, what better dessert for Christmas than a silky smooth, delectable chocolate cream pie? I decided to use a cookie crust made from Tennis Biscuits (a coconut flavoured cookie). What makes this dessert so magical is that you can make it entirely the day before. All you need to do before serving is top them with whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder. I also like to serve them with a few fresh cherries to add a bit of fresh, fruitiness but this is completely optional. A cup of strong coffee would also be a great companion for this delicious pie!

- 200g (7.05 ounces) tennis biscuits (or graham crackers)
- 100g (3.53 ounces) butter, melted
- 750ml (25.36 fluid ounces) milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon good quality instant coffee
- ½ cup corn flour
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 5 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon salt
- fresh cream, whipped
- cocoa powder, for sifting
- Crush the tennis biscuits and mix with the melted butter.
- Press into the bottom of 6 small or 1 large pie tin and place in the fridge to set.
- To make the filling, combine the milk, vanilla and coffee in a saucepan and bring to boiling point.
- In a separate bowl, combine the corn flour, sugar, cocoa powder, egg yolks and salt and mix well to form a smooth paste.
- When the milk has reached boiling point, remove from the heat.
- Whisk a ladle full of the hot milk into the corn flour mixture and continue with the rest of the mixture.
- Pour the liquid back into the saucepan and over low heat, whisk continuously until the filling is thick and when tasted, has no floury taste.
- Pour the mixture through a sieve to make sure there is no lumps and pour the smooth filling into the prepared pie case.
- Allow to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- When you are ready to serve, whip the cream and swirl onto the pie. Dust with cocoa powder and serve.



























