Happy Birthday Pie.....

My oldest son turned 12 on Memorial Day this year.  I, personally, think that is a great day for a birthday!  The sun was shining, it was FINALLY not raining, the mosquito's weren't too bad...the day was destined to be a great day for a birthday cook-out.

We had asked #1 what he wanted to have for his birthday dinner and it coincidentally was something that was easy to make for a crowd, which I appreciated.  His birthday dessert, was another matter.  I asked him for days and he couldn't make up his mind.  "Just something chocolate" he said.  How vague is that!  I told him I could make a double chocolate cake, cheesecake with chocolate ganache (our favorite), homemade chocolate ice cream...None of my ideas sounded right to him.  Remember, this is my fickle, picky and indecisive eater ;)

Finally he decided that he wanted to have a peanut butter custard pie.  I can hear you thinking...THAT"S NOT CHOCOLATE!!!  That's what I told him.  He described to me a pie he had once at a local bakery that he apparently has thought about ever since he had it.  It was PB on the bottom and dark chocolate on the top.


  I knew I had something similar to this that I had just made a few weeks ago with bananas so I could just make a few changes to make it work.  I guess this is what I get for asking!


Peanut Butter and Chocolate Custard Pie

1/2 C sugar
1/4 C cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 C whole milk
1 C whipping (heavy) cream
3 egg yolks lightly beaten
1 TB unsalted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 TB creamy peanut butter
1 9 inch deep dish pie shell
4 (1 ounce) squares of 60% cacao chocolate (or use semi-sweet...we are just dark chocolate fans here!)


Bake crust according to directions and let cool.
In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt.  Gradually add the milk and cream until smooth.  Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thick and bubbly (about 2 minutes).
Add a small amount of this to a little dish with the beaten yolks to temper them (YUCK!  You don't want scrambled eggs!).  Return this to the pan and with a whisk stir and bring to a light boil.

Stir constantly for 2 minutes (great arm workout but you don't want it to scald...I PROMISE it will be so smooth and silky you won't regret it!).

Remove from heat and add the vanilla and the butter.  Pour half of this into a bowl and whisk in the peanut butter until smooth.  Add the chocolate to what is in the pan and whisk until it is melted and incorporated.


I made the peanut butter layer first, let is sit for about 10 minutes then carefully spooned on the chocolate layer and gently smoothed it to the edge of the crust.  This is best if kept cold for at least 4 hours before being served.

Let me assure you this pie didn't last long after we blew out the candles and took a picture.  It is like a cold , creamy Reese's cup.  You can't tell me you DON'T like those ;)

Right before we sang to him...I almost forgot to get a good shot of the pie!

Creamy, cold and Soooo yummy!