Chocolate Bourbon Cream Pie

I'm not much of a drinker. I like a beer on a hot day or a margarita with my taco, but most of the time I'm happy to stick to a glass of wine with a meal and that's pretty much that. That, however, doesn't stop me from buying pretty bottle after pretty bottle of liqueurs and spirits, mainly for looking at and sometimes for cooking/baking with. Any way, it's good manners to have a well stocked bar... for visitors and guests... and you never know when the urge for a Chocolate Bourbon Cream Pie might hit you.

NOTE: Having said all that, if you prefer your chocolate cream pie without bourbon, you can use 80ml (1/3 cup) strongly brewed coffee instead.



Chocolate Bourbon Cream Pie
slightly adapted from here

For the Base:
350g Chocolate Ripple Biscuits (or plain chocolate cookies), blitzed in a food processor until you have fine crumbs
120g unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:
410ml (1 2/3 cups) full cream milk
250ml (1 cup) pouring cream
200g 70% dark chocolate, chopped
200g milk chocolate, chopped
60g (1/3 cup) brown sugar
75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
35g (1/4 cup) cornflour (corn starch)
80ml (1/3 cup) bourbon (or 1/3 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled)
4 egg yolks

For the Topping:
500ml (2 cups) whipping cream
120g (1/2 cup) sour cream
Cocoa powder for dusting

Make the Base:
Put the blitzed biscuits into a bowl. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. Press the mixture into the base and sides of a 1.5 litre capacity ceramic pie dish. Set aside in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

Make the Filling:
Pour the milk, cream and both chocolate into a medium pan and heat over medium heat until melted. Bring to the boil, stirring. Remove from the heat while you prep the rest of the filling ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk the brown and caster sugars, cornflour, bourbon and egg yolks together until combined. Whisk in the slightly cooled chocolate mixture. Transfer to a clean pan and place over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Continue whisking for 1 -  2 minutes until the mixture starts to thicken. Set aside to cool slightly.

Pour the chocolate custard into the cooled pie base. Leave to cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours, until set and cold.

Make the Topping:
Place the cream and sour cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip until firm peaks form. Pile it on top of the cooled pie and dust liberally with cocoa powder.