Choco Mocha Latte Cream Pie

Once again, I was driving down the road trying to wake up on my way to work.  The kids had been up multiple times in the night, as if they scheduled shift to keep Mommy and Daddy awake, so I was running off of about 4 hours of sleep.  I'm staying in my lane, no worries there, but I definitely needed caffeine buzz to keep me conscious for the upcoming 9 hour schlog I was about to endure.

So I drove through one of the five different coffee huts on my way to work and ordered a bucket of Chai Tea Latte.  It was 40 degrees and close to Thanksgiving, so the spices sounded good.  But there was that smell as the barrista opened her drive through window that hit me like a shot of epinephrine to the heart.  A dark roast Columbian blend with a definite semi-sweet undertone.  Then it came to me. A breakfast wake-up pie with coffee and chocolate!

We've used our Basic Cream pie so many ways since it's so versatile, so why not bend it to our will again.  The milk and cream make a great dairy base, so all we need to do is add in the chocolate and coffee.  Don't skimp on the chocolate for this one.  Make sure you use some type that you love.  I'd recommend a semi-sweet or dark chocolate, just because of the sugar that's already in the recipe.

As for the coffee, there are two different methodologies that work.  You could go with a great tasting coffee.  I've tried adding a double shot of espresso.  Since we're flavoring almost a quart of ingredients, that much gives it a great coffee flavor without overpowering everything.  And you get the caffeine as well, so it can qualify as a breakfast pick-me-up.

If you don't want to go that route, you could always just use Kahlua or another Coffee liqueur.  All the coffee flavor, none of the caffeine and a little bit of an alcoholic flavor so it's more of a dessert feel.

Choco Mocha Latte Pie

3/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons cornstarch
4 ounces espresso or Kahlua
2 cups milk
3/4 whipped cream
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cups chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl.  Pour the mixture into a large saucepan and then add the coffee, milk and cream.  Use a whisk to blend all of the ingredients together.  Next, separate the 3 egg yolks into a small cup, beat them for about 20 seconds and then set them aside for later.

Place the saucepan over medium heat and with a silicon or rubber spatula and constantly stir the filling until it thickens slightly, from a milky consistency to where it acts like a loose pudding.  While still stirring, add a small amount of the mixture to the egg yolks and immediately stir them. (And don't forget to keep stirring the main mixture so it doesn't burn)  This warms up the egg yolks so they don't become scrambled eggs in the pie.  Repeat this step two more times, then slowly pour the eggs into the main mixture, stirring the main mixture the whole time.

Continue to stir for another two minutes, then stir in the butter.  Once it's completely melted, remove from the heat and add the vanilla.  Pour directly into a pre-prepared pie crust and allow to cool on the counter for 15-20 minutes.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours.  Garnish with whipped cream and maybe an espresso bean or two.


So make one of these and get your morning buzz via some pie!