German Chocolate Pie

Yep, I keep finding different German chocolate things to bake for L's birthday -  I don't even like German chocolate and Dave can't eat it because of his nut allergy so having leftovers or taste testing isn't very fun LOL. What I'll do for my friends... 😉

This one got rave reviews, no one shook my hand like with the German chocolate poke cake  (click to read about that haha!) but there was still raving - so if you've never made (or heard of) German chocolate pie I can definitely recommend this recipe.


Ingredients

For pie:

• 10" deep-dish single-crust pie crust (or homemade crust if that's your jam. it isn't mine when the Marie Callender frozen one is just as good as mine!)
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 4 oz. German sweet chocolate, broken into pieces 
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 T. cornstarch
• 1/4 t. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 (12 oz) an evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut (note: I use unsweetened coconut)
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 3 oz. bittersweet chocolate

For frosting:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 cups sweetened flaked coconut (note: I use unsweetened coconut)
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
• 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate

Directions:

1. Arrange a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat to 330' (if your oven doesn't allow that setting preheat to 325').
2. Melt butter and sweet chocolate together, stir to combine.
3. In a large bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt; stir to break up any lumps. Stir in eggs and vanilla, then stir in the chocolate mixture. Add evaporated milk and mix well. Pour into prepared crust.

4.  Mix together coconut and pecans, sprinkle over filling. Bake 1 hour or until the center is just set. Let cool. Melt bittersweet chocolate in microwave on medium power, spread over cooled pie. Let set.

1. To prepare frosting: In a heavy saucepan, combine butter, sugars and evaporated milk. Bring to a boil oven medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir a little of the hot liquid into egg yolks, continue adding a little at a time until yolks are warm. Gradually stir yolk mixture into the pot. Stir in vanilla, then coconut and pecans. 
2. Gently spread frosting onto pie. Melt chocolate and drizzle over frosting.

notes: Above is the original recipe, here's how I went rogue and did things a little differently ~

• German chocolate anything is really sweet, that's why I use unsweetened coconut to cut the sweetness a little bit.
• I baked the pie an additional 10 minutes and it still didn't seem set but I pulled it out anyway and after it cooled it did set up.
• Instead of melting the chocolate in microwave and spreading over cooled pie, I just chopped the chocolate in small pieces and sprinkled on the hot pie after removing from the oven. Once it melted I just spread it over the top. 
• The reason for stirring a little of the hot liquid into the egg yolks is to keep them from curdling like scrambled eggs. If that happens you can strain the clumps of cooked egg out. 
• I put it back on the heat for a couple minutes after adding the yolks because it seemed like they might be raw and not everyone is good with that. 
• This frosting made way more than the pie needed (and I like lots of frosting!). I froze the rest for the next German chocolate thing I find to bake hahaha. Also I forgot to drizzle the chocolate as a garnish and it was not missed. 

original recipe found here


10.16.18: white chicken chili
10.16.17: Ronda's October display table
10.16.16: burger salad
10.16.15: jack o'lantern gift enclosure