#GATRONOMIA German Chocolate Pie

You've probably had German chocolate cake, but what about a German chocolate pie? Why not? It's easier than cake and delicious, too.

 It's November, which means my holiday countdown has begun and I'm kicking it off with a holiday desserts column.
My Chocolate, Peppermint Trifle is definitely a December dessert (and is wildly popular). The Pumpkin Butterscotch Bread Pudding is more suitable for November.
The Pear Tart and German Chocolate Pie are delicious any time. You can make the pie easier by using a premade shortbread or chocolate crust (graham cracker isn't a good choice with this recipe).
The pear tart is dairy free (as long as you use Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry). I will try to include more dairy free and gluten free recipes this holiday season for people with intolerances or allergies.
I'm not including any cookies in this column because I will have plenty of cookie recipes in the future.
Hopefully, these recipes will add some variety of your holiday dessert collection. Enjoy.
German Chocolate Pie
Serves 6-8
1 prepared pie crust
4 ounces German chocolate squares
1/3 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon flour
1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch
Half pint of heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup whole milk
1 cup coconut
1 egg yolk
2/3 cup pecan halves, divided
Note: This pie is not super sweet, so taste it to make sure it's sweet enough for you before you take the chocolate pudding off the heat. If not, add extra sugar.
Bake your pie crust according to package directions and allow to cool.
Break chocolate into squares.
Chop 1/4 cup of pecans and leave the others in halves.
In medium-size pot over medium heat, stir together chocolate, sugar, flour, cornstarch, cream and milk. Stir for about 10-12 minutes or until chocolate melts and mixture is thick.
Add coconut and increase heat to medium-high for 2 minutes, then remove from heat. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped pecans.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then stir in your egg yolk. Pour into pie crust. Allow to cool for 20 minutes on the counter. Decorate with pecan halves and then cover and refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.
Pumpkin Butterscotch Bread Pudding
Servings: 12
1 loaf (14 ounces) cinnamon challah bread or cinnamon brioche, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 10 cups)


4 large eggs
2 cans (12 fluid ounces each) Nestle Carnation Evaporated Lowfat 2 percent Milk
1 can (15 ounces) Libby's Pure Pumpkin
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Nestle Toll House Butterscotch flavored morsels
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
Vanilla Light Ice Cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Spread bread cubes in single layer on rimmed baking sheets. Bake, tossing occasionally, for 10 minutes or until dry.
Beat eggs in large bowl; stir in evaporated milk, pumpkin, 1 cup granulated sugar, vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and salt. Add bread; toss gently to coat. Transfer mixture into prepared baking dish; let stand for 30 minutes or until bread is thoroughly saturated (press down bread occasionally).
Combine brown sugar with remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and remaining cinnamon. Sprinkle morsels over bread mixture; top with brown sugar mixture.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes (this will allow bread pudding to set). Serve warm with ice cream.
Source: Nestle

serves 10-12
1 prepared Dark Chocolate or Devil’s Food cake from a cake mix
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 1/ 2cups whole milk
2/ 3cup sugar
1 1/ 2teaspoons peppermint extract
8 ounces whipped topping
1/ 3 cup chocolate syrup
5 ounces dark chocolate covered thin mint patties
Bake your cake according to package directions. You are going to cut the cake into cubes, so it doesn’t matter if you bake it in one pan or two 9-inch pans. I recommend a dark chocolate cake mix for this recipe and second best would be Devil’s Food.
Once cake is done, allow it to cool.
For the peppermint pudding: In a heavy bottomed pot, whisk together flour, cornstarch, sugar, and milk and cook over medium heat until thickened, about 10 minutes.
Note: you want this thicker than yogurt, but not as thick as a pie filling. When thickened, stir in peppermint extract and turn off heat. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.



Cut your cake into 1-inch cubes.
Spread half of the cubed cake in the bottom of a large trifle dish. Top with 2/3 of the peppermint pudding.
Chop your chocolate covered peppermintsand sprinkle half of thoseover the pudding.
Spread half of the chocolate syrup over the pudding.
Add the next layer of cake and then drizzle the rest of the chocolate syrup over the cake.
Use a teaspoon to drop the rest of the peppermint pudding on top of cake. Sprinkle the rest of the chocolate covered mint patties over that layer.
Finally, top with whipped topping.
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You may not need the entire tub of whipped topping. If desired, you can decorate the top with more chocolate covered mints. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.
PEAR TART
serves 4-5
1 Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed to room temperature or in the refrigerator
1/ 2cup granulated sugar
Juice from 1 lemon
1/ 4cup water
1 Bartlett pear
2 Anjou pears Dash of nutmeg
Parchment paper for baking
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a pan, heat sugar, juice from 1 lemon and water until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens and becomes a little syrupy.
Slice your pears into 1/4inch slices.Add pears to the cooking sugar mixture and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Lay a piece of parchment paper down on a baking sheet.
Unwrap your puff pastry. Remove pears from sugar and layer them in a circle on your puff pastry, being sure to leave at least 1 1/2-inches around thefour corners of the pastry. You are going to fold up the ends of the puff pastry to keep the pears in.
Layer more pears until you’ve used them all and then fold up the edges of the puff pastry.
Start by folding up the four sides of the pastry and then pinch the pastry together where it is open.
Sprinkle with a dash of nutmeg, if desired.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove and brush half the remaining syrup mixture over pears.
Serve warm or at room temperature. If desired, serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Contact Juliana Goodwin, News-Leader food columnist, at jlgoodwin@news-leader.com or call 836-1124.

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