8 ounces bittersweet chocolate plus more for grating over pie roughly chopped
6 tablespoons butter melted cut into small cubes
32 chocolate wafers such as nabisco famous for 1 1/3 cups cookie crumbs (such as Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers, enough )
0.3 cup cornstarch
6 large egg yolks
3.3 cups milk
0.5 teaspoon salt
0.3 cup slivered almonds
1 cup sugar divided
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1.5 cups whipping cream
Equipment
food processor
bowl
sauce pan
oven
whisk
plastic wrap
hand mixer
wooden spoon
kitchen thermometer
Directions
Preheat oven to 35
In a food processor, pulse cookies until finely ground.
Transfer to a medium bowl; set aside. To processor, add almonds and 3 tbsp. sugar and pulse until almonds have texture of coarse meal (be careful not to grind them into nut butter).
Add ground nuts to cookies and stir in 6 tbsp. melted butter. Press into bottom and sides of a 9-in. deep-dish pie plate (crust should be fairly thick).
Bake on center rack 15 minutes; let cool.
Put egg yolks in a medium bowl and beat to blend; set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together milk, 3/4 cup sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly (mixture will begin to thicken). Reduce heat to medium.
Whisking constantly, pour 1/2 cup hot milk mixture into egg yolks, then pour egg-milk mixture into saucepan. Bring to a simmer (about 190 on an instant-read thermometer), stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (it will thicken noticeably).
Remove from heat and stir in chocolate, vanilla, and 2 tbsp. butter.
Pour chocolate filling into a medium metal bowl, then set bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and let cool 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until filling reaches room temperature.
Pour filling into prepared crust and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface (to prevent a skin from forming). Chill until cold, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.
Just before serving, combine cream and remaining 1 tbsp. sugar in a chilled bowl. With an electric mixer on high speed, beat cream until medium peaks form.
Spread whipped cream in a thick dome over chocolate filling. Grate chocolate over pie.
