This was a very popular choice on my Facebook Poll this week; it won the vote by a very hefty margin. I have hazy memories of eating a shop bought Mississippi mud pie many moons ago. I can't remember what it tasted like apart from it being extremely rich! When I cast an eye over the list of ingredients for this recipe I could quite see why, as it did not appear to be a dessert for the faint hearted or for those who are watching their waistlines.
I needed six eggs to make the Mississippi mud pie; yes I was shocked by the amount too! Annoyingly I was one egg short of the required half dozen, so I headed over to our local shop. Whilst I was there I also purchased the digestive biscuits needed for the biscuity base. I had to buy a massive packet which also had 50 per cent extra free. This is very generous of the biscuit manufacturers, but I doubt I'll be able to resist eating the rest of the packet. Honestly, I am doing a great job of fattening myself up for Christmas!
I arrived home laden with heavy shopping and aching arms. As the light fades so early at this time of year, I am really struggling to take decent photos. With this in mind I am trying to bake a little earlier than usual. I looked at the clock and decided I'd better get a wriggle on as time was ticking by; it was almost two o'clock already! I am well used to making Mary's biscuit bases by now and it was no surprise that this particular base would be rather sparing. Only six and a half biscuits (of course I ate the remaining half) were used, which doesn't seem very much. I crushed up the biscuits until I had fine crumbs and then added them to a saucepan of melted butter. Again, the quantity of butter seemed rather small. To add a bit of sweetness to the equation I tipped in some Demerara sugar; perhaps using this large grained sugar would give an extra crunch to the base? After stirring it all together it was ready to be pressed into the base of my loose bottomed tin. Mary says to use the back of a metal spoon so of course I followed suit, although I am unclear as to why I should use a metal spoon rather than a wooden one!
Now the base was done and dusted I could move on to making the rather odd chocolaty filling. I say odd because it wasn't what I had been expecting. I suppose I'd imagined a chocolate cake topping. However, due to all of the eggs, it was obviously going to turn out rather runny. I felt intrigued as to what I would end up with! Automatically I set a bowl over a pan of water to melt the chocolate, only to find that I should put the chocolate directly into the saucepan. It would save on the washing up, which is always a bonus! To the two bars of chocolate I added a good amount of butter along with a small quantity of coffee granules. The next part was a little annoying as I needed to pour in just a tablespoon of boiling water. I wasn't going to boil the kettle for such a measly amount, so used it as an excuse to make a cup of tea. I heated the mixture over a low heat and stirred every now and again whilst sipping on the hot mug of tea. It's a hard life! Once the chocolate and butter had melted, I took it off the heat and moved on to the next stage. I poured in a large amount of single cream. I began to wonder if I might as well book a hospital bed now to save time. I beat in the cream and then measured in a hefty amount of dark muscovado sugar. Perhaps using this dark and dense sugar is what makes this dessert so very rich. The sugar in question was rock hard and was so difficult to whisk in. I think I managed to get rid of most of the lumps but I'm sure a few stubborn ones remained. Next I started the egg cracking marathon – I lightly beat the eggs in a jug before whisking into the chocolaty mixture. The result was so runny that I wasn't surprised when it merrily dripped out of the base of my tin almost as soon as I had poured it in. I quickly placed the dripping tin into the heated oven and quickly shoved a baking tray on the bottom shelf to catch the escaping mixture. I wondered if I’d just be left with the biscuit base! Soon the heat of the oven worked its magic and the drips were halted. Stalactites of mixture hung precariously from the base of the tin! The mud pie cooked for almost half an hour. Each time I checked I was worried as it had a vast deep dip in the middle of the pie; it did not look good. By the time I took the pie out of the oven it had risen to almost the top of the tin – it was huge. I left it to cool completely and, when I checked on it an hour or so later, it had become quite deflated and was now at a more sensible height! On closer inspection, I noticed that the sides of the pie had folded in. Oh dear! I could certainly see how it got its name as it looked just like a lump of mud!
I left the unsightly dessert to cool in the tin and, once completely cold, I lifted it out onto a plate. Now to add some double cream; obviously more fat is deemed necessary. I could almost feel my arteries clog! Mary just says to put the whipped cream on top of the pie. I hoped she didn't expect me to pipe on pretty swirls as I think it would have made it look even worse! I searched on line and it seemed that most people simply placed a heaped dollop of cream in the center. This I felt to be a good idea as it didn't attempt to mask the ugliness!!! The finished mud pie might not look very appetising but the taste is, of course, the most important aspect. I gingerly cut a slice. I was relieved to see that it was thoroughly cooked through – phew! I gave Neil an enormous slice and he visibly baulked at the sight of the chocolaty dessert. He said it tasted a lot better than he imagined it would but said it was too rich for him. Knowing what had gone into it, I cut just a small sliver for myself. It was very dark and rich. The taste of coffee was surprisingly strong, but complimented the chocolate well. The dark muscovado sugar was also much in evidence – it gave a treacly toffee flavor. It had a lovely mousse like texture which was rather yummy! I really liked the biscuit base – just a shame there wasn't more of it. I think this dessert is way too rich for me but that is just my personal taste. I wonder how many years it will be until I try a Mississippi Mud Pie again?!?!
Looks aren't everything are they?!?!?
