Chocolate Berry Cream Pie

In the last six months, I've made quite a collection of melty, gooey, rich chocolaty desserts. But explain to me how somehow, the one dessert that features fruit, not chocolate, gets a standing ovation from my cocoa-crazed husband.

Ok, so technically there is chocolate in this pie, but teddy grahams and a pinch of cocoa powder hardly settle my chocolate fix, nevertheless Luke's. But yet we both agreed that this dreamy dessert soared to the top with the first bite.

It's called a cream pie, but basically it's a creamy cheesecake with a chocolate crumb crust that's topped with triple berry curd – a.k.a. the most amazing thing to happen to fruit since....um, chocolate.
   

The crust is a snap, taking only minutes to prepare and putting all other complicated pastry crusts to shame. Just throw your teddy grahams/chocolate wafers in a Ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin until every last bear is pulverized into powder. Then toss it with brown sugar, melted butter and an egg white. (Oh and save that yoke...you'll need it for the filling.)

Now, what in the world kind of cheesecake can you possibly make with fat free cottage cheese and fat free cream cheese? Surprisingly, an absolute delicious one. A few rounds in the 'ol food processor with a little sugar, flour and the usual suspects and you'll have a fluffy, creamy filling that's worthy of the crust those bears silently gave their life to create. And in 35 minutes or less, you'll have gold.

The pie needs to chill for at least four hours or overnight, which gives you plenty of time to make the triple berry curd.

Now, time for a story problem. If you need a cup each of frozen blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, but all of the frozen bags are measured in ounces and pounds, and the fresh in pints, how long will it take a 26-year-old, inexperienced cook to figure out what to buy?

Longer than I should admit, that's for sure. After two phone calls to my mother and a few poor attempts at unit conversions, I decided to check out the serving size on the bag. And whatdaya know...a 16 ounce bag of mixed berries comes out to exactly three cups. And it was written there all along for idiots like me.

So, once you get your berries, and I hope you get them quicker than me, into the blender they go, then into a sieve to remove all the seeds. It takes a little time, but the result...a perfectly smooth, seed-free puree...is totally worth it. Nothing could be better.

Until you add in that sugar and butter, of course. Mix it with a little cornstarch, salt, lemon juice and eggs and you'll create a thick, creamy berry mixture that will have you rethinking chocolate altogether.

There will be plenty of leftover berry puree and berry curd, both of which won't stay leftovers very long. We ate up the puree for breakfast, and used the extra curd for a delicious topping on chocolate ice cream and then later as a sauce for stuffed French toast. Delish.

Once the curd cools, it has to chill for six hours or overnight in the fridge. This was a shocker to me, since I once again made the mistake of not reading both recipes before I started. So, waiting six hours meant we could eat the pie....at about half time during the Harlem Globetrotters game we had tickets to that night.

So when you make this, make the pie and the curd on the same day with plenty of time for both to chill. Then you'll never have to decide between dessert and basketball. (I would have chosen dessert, by the way, but you know how men are with their sports.)

Once your pie is finally chilled, you can slather on that sweet, creamy berry curd and slice 'er up. If you want to get all fancy shmancy, you can sprinkle on a little cocoa powder and top each piece with a few berries. As you can see, I chose this extra touch because I was serving this pie for a very special occasion. Dessert.

Luke and I ate our pie on the balcony, and for ten minutes straight, said nothing to one another accept for the occasional "Oh my goodness," a few "This is so amazing" and a couple "Are you tasting this?!" I have a feeling the neighbors out on their balconies were seriously judging us.

But when you're eating something that looks and tastes like this...who cares what other people think? They were probably just jealous because they weren't eating pie. And becase they don't have a husband that gives standing ovations at the dinner table. With a beard covered in berry curd.

Chocolate-Berry Cream Pie
Elizabeth Taliaferro, Cooking Light, MARCH 2006
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

Cookbook Note: This can be prepared a day in advance, but wait to spread the topping until you're ready to serve. (p.s. the cake and the curd take several hours or overnight to chill!)

Ingredients:

Crust:
1  cup  chocolate wafer crumbs (about 20 cookies; such as Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers)
(I used chocolate teddy grahams.)
2  tablespoons  brown sugar
1  tablespoon  butter, melted
1  egg white
Cooking spray
  
Filling:
1  cup  fat-free cottage cheese
1/2  cup  (4 ounces) fat-free cream cheese, softened
6  tablespoons  granulated sugar
2  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
1/8  teaspoon  salt
2  large eggs
1  large egg yolk
3/4  cup  Triple Berry Curd (Recipe below)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare crust, combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a fork until moist. Press into bottom and 1 inch up sides of a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes; cool on a wire rack.

To prepare filling, combine cottage cheese and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a food processor; process for 1 minute or until smooth. Add eggs and egg yolk; process until smooth. Spoon filling into prepared crust. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until set. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.

To serve, spread Triple Berry Curd evenly over top.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 218 (26% from fat), Fat: 6.3g (sat 2.6g,mono 2.1g,poly 1g), Protein: 10.9g, Carbohydrate: 29.6g, Fiber: 0.8g, Cholesterol: 99mg, Iron: 1.2mg, Sodium: 249mg, Calcium: 56mg.

Triple Berry Curd
Elizabeth Taliaferro, Cooking Light, MARCH 2006
Yield: 2 1/2 cups (serving size: 1 tablespoon)

Ingredients:
1  cup  frozen blackberries, thawed
1  cup  frozen blueberries, thawed
1  cup  frozen raspberries, thawed
2/3  cup  sugar
1  tablespoon  cornstarch
1/8  teaspoon  salt
2  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
3  large eggs
2  tablespoons  butter

Preparation:
Place all berries in a blender, and process until smooth. Press berry mixture through a sieve over a medium bowl using the back of a spoon, reserving 1 cup puree; discard seeds. Reserve any of remaining puree for another use; store in the refrigerator.

Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium, heavy saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Stir in 1 cup puree, juice, and eggs. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add butter, stirring gently until butter melts. Cool.

Spoon mixture into a medium bowl; cover and chill for at least 6 hours or overnight (mixture will thicken as it cools).

Nutritional Information: Calories: 29 (31% from fat), Fat: 1g (sat 0.5g,mono 0.3g,poly 0.1g), Protein: 0.6g, Carbohydrate: 4.8g, Fiber: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 17mg, Iron: 0.3mg, Sodium: 18mg, Calcium: 4mg

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