No Cook Chocolate Mousse Pie

PHOTO REDO. You're welcome because this pie really needed and deserved a facelift. 

(And here's the original photo if you need it for reference. Yikes.)

Okay, so this picture was taken in haste.

Once you have licked off the beaters for this completely awesome creation, you will understand why I didn't want to wait more than 30 seconds to get to my dang pie. In fact I've now made this twice and neither time did I stop very long to really go for that perfect picture. That perfect picture was too eager to be in my mouth.

Besides being intensely good chocolate pie and intensely good chocolate mousse, this recipe requires no baking. And no cooking on the stove top either. None whatsoever. Take that 100 degree days. (If you don't take it, I sure will.)

It also takes, oh, a whopping 10 minutes to whip up the mousse. And maybe another 5 to blend up the crust. And, if you're an over-achiever, another 5 to whip some cream.

There is but one caveat. This recipe requires raw eggs. And I doubt it's possible to adapt it so as to cook the eggs and come out with the same recipe. I bummed some "farm" (backyard) fresh ones off of my friend because they were eggs that, as Tamar Adler would put it, I could trust. However, now that I've eaten this, I might wind up throwing caution to the wind and just using any old eggs I have on hand any old time I happen to need a fix. Because I'm a sick woman. (You can be too. It's easy. It's fun. It's chocolate. It's really good chocolate.)

You can make this with or without a crust. I liked it both ways (um, obviously). You can also make it extra decadent by using an Oreo cookie crust. Or you could play around with the flavors by using different types of cookies in your crust (gingersnap, Nilla Wafers, whatever).

No Bake Chocolate Mousse Pie
adapted from My Judy the Foodie
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: Zip
Cost: $2.40
(crust: .85, butter: .50, sugar: .15, chocolate: .80, eggs: .10)

1 graham cracker crust
1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 C sugar
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate squares
1 tsp vanilla (I think 1/4 tsp almond extract would kick butt too, but haven't tried it yet)
2 eggs

Note: Instead of vanilla, you can use 1/4 tsp almond extract, or orange extract or any other crazy flavors you want to try.

Chop chocolate into tiny bits. Melt it with 2 Tbsp butter. I did this in the microwave, stirring ever 20-30 seconds, until it was melted. Allow it to cool a bit as you prepare butter/sugar blend.

Cream remaining butter. Add sugar and blend very well.

Mix in melted chocolate (it's okay if it's warm, but it shouldn't be crazy hot). Mix in vanilla. (Your mixture may still look grainy. That's okay.)

Add eggs 1 at a time, beating 5 minutes each. (Note: This is what the original recipe instructed. I beat mine for considerably less time--probably 2-3 minutes. What's going to happen is that at a certain point your chocolate will lighten up and the mixture will become a bit thicker and stiffer. It will also become smoother and silkier. If you stop too early, you'll have an overly grainy tenxture for your mousse. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture; I was probably too busy sticking my fingers in and licking them off.) When the color of the mixture gets lighter and the texture gets firmer (and when you have a taste and it's not super sugar-grainy), you can stop beating.

Spoon it into crust and smooth it out. (P.S. You can also make this in ramekins as I did above. It's a little more hassle, but it kept me from eating the entire pie.)

Chill until it's set, about 1 hour.

Dollop with whipped cream if you wish (although it's plenty good without it).

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