Chocolate Cream Pie

My sister-in-law Kasey's mother, Candy, makes the best chocolate cream pie in the world. After you eat a piece of it, you literally want to curl up into a ball and die from pure joy - - it is that good. Not only is she a wonderful cook, but she is also a wonderful person. She has always welcomed Steve, the boys and I into her family here in Idaho, and it means so much to us. One of my favorite memories is when Candy had made one of her delectable pies, and decorated the top with mini-chocolate chips. Camden wanted to pick all of the chocolate chips off the top of the entire pie and eat them, and Candy happily obliged, because that is just the kind of lady she is. We love you, Candy!

I do not have a copy of Candy's famous recipe, but I wanted to make a chocolate cream pie in the worst way yesterday, so I perused Epicurious to see what I could come up with. I settled on this recipe, and got to work. The recipe calls for a chocolate wafer cookie crust, but Candy uses a pastry crust for her pie, so I did the same. Personally, I prefer a pastry crust for a cream pie. I should tell you, making this pie is not like using a box of Jello pudding. It takes some effort, and some prep work. I promise you though, once you make a chocolate cream pie from scratch, you will never go back. The result was a rich, dense, chocolaty slice of yumminess. Not quite as good as Candy's pie, but I wasn't silly enough to expect to come close to her masterpiece. I feel the need to implore - - if you are going to go through all the trouble of making your chocolate cream filling from scratch, please, for the love of all things holy, don't spread Cool Whip over the top. Whip up some heavy cream and a bit of sugar, and do this right!