A few weekends ago I finally saw the film “The Help”. The movie came out in 2011 and is based off the book with the same title that came out in 2009. I had heard so many great things about it but it still took me a while to finally getting around to seeing it. It has to be one of the most heart warming films I have ever seen. The two main characters, Minny and Abileen, work as maids in the households of rich white people in the Southern states. The movie had me laughing out loud and nearly in tears. I especially loved Minny’s fiery spirit and her devotion to Crisco.
In the film, Minny’s chocolate pie becomes very important to the plot (I won’t tell you how – watch the movie or read the book!). The woman who catered for the film released her recipe online and this is it! It’s as tasty in real life as Minny’s famous chocolate pie is supposed to be (and does not include that terrible awful ingredient). The filling is lusciously smooth and chocolatey. It put me in mind of the chocolate pudding cups I would eat as a kid, but with a stronger cocoa flavour. The whipped cream on top made it absolutely heavenly, and I enjoyed the contrast of the silky filling with the unsweetened pie crust. This is definitely something I can see being enjoyed in the South!
For the pie crust, I used a quarter recipe of my Grandma’s pie dough. It was left over from Canadian Thanksgiving and I just defrosted it in the fridge overnight. Once again I had to use a wine bottle to roll out the dough because I had forgotten that I don’t actually own a rolling pin. Still, who says that baking equipment needs to be high tech to do the job? I hope you enjoy the movie and this pie as much as I did!
Minny’s Chocolate Pie
Serves 9 – 12 people
Adapted from Food & Wine
Ingredients:
- Pie dough for 1 single pie – 1/4 of my Grandma’s recipe or storebought dough
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 3/4 cup evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 150 ml double/whipping cream
- 1 tbsp icing sugar
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Roll out the pie dough a few inches wider than the diameter of the pie plate (~1/4 inch thick). Ease the pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate, leaving a half inch overhang. Fold the edge of the pie crust under itself and crimp the edges. Prick the crust lightly with a fork. Line the crust with foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes or until set. Remove the foil and weights and bake for about 5 minutes longer, just until the crust is dry but not browned.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk the sugar and the eggs together until the volume has increased. Sift in the cocoa powder and beat until well combined. Add the evaporated milk, vanilla, extract and salt and beat until well combined. Mix for 30 seconds on high just before pouring the filing into the pie shell.
- Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake for about 45-50 minutes, until the filling is set around the edges but a little jiggly in the center. Transfer the pie to a wire rack to cool completely. To serve, whip the double cream to stiff peaks with the icing sugar. Serve each slice with a dollop of cream.