Ultimate Mud Pie

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups chocolate wafer crumbs 
• 2 tablespoons chocolate wafer crumbs for garnish
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar 
• 0.3 cup cornstarch 
• 4 large egg yolk 
• 3 cups half and half 
• 1 cup cup heavy whipping cream 
• 0.1 teaspoon salt 
• 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
• 0.7 cup sugar 
• 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
• 0.5 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Equipment

• bowl
• sauce pan
• oven
• whisk
• sieve
• hand mixer
• spatula
• pie form

Directions

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheatthe oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9-inch piepan.
2. To make the crust, combine the crumbs, meltedbutter, and sugar in a medium bowl until moistened.Press firmly and evenly into the pie pan.
3. Bake until thecrust is set and smells like warm cookies, about 12minutes. Cool completely.
4. To make the filling, in a medium saucepan overmedium heat, heat 2 1/2 cups of the half-and-half, thesugar, and the salt, stirring often to dissolve the sugar,until simmering.
5. Pour into a heatproof bowl. Rinse outthe saucepan.
6. In a small bowl, sprinkle the cornstarch over theremaining 1/2 cup half-and-half and whisk until dissolved.
7. Whisk the yolks in a medium bowl, and graduallywhisk in the cornstarch mixture. Gradually whiskin the hot half-and-half mixture and return to therinsed-out saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirringconstantly with a flat wooden spatula (to keepthe mixture from scorching), until it comes to a boil.Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the mixturebubble, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
8. Remove fromthe heat, add the chocolate, butter, and vanilla, andwhisk until the chocolate melts completely. Strainthrough a wire sieve into a clean bowl.
9. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and pressplastic wrap directly on the filling to keep a skin fromforming.
10. Let cool completely. Refrigerate until the fillingis chilled and set, at least 2 hours.
11. To make the topping, whip the cream, confectioners'sugar, and vanilla in a chilled medium bowl withan electric mixer set on high speed until stiff. Uncoverthe pie.
12. Spread and swirl the topping over the filling.(If you wish, transfer the whipped cream to a pastrybag fitted with a star tip, and pipe the cream onto thepie.)
13. Sprinkle pie with cookie crumbs. Slice and servechilled.
14. Adapted from Diamond Dishes by Julie Loria (Lyons Press/ $24.9
15. Excerpts copyright 2011 by Julie Loria, with permission of Lyons Press