Another day down, and another day without an excuse to bake pie.
But why do we need an excuse? We don’t. We really don’t. Baking is therapeutic, peaceful, meditative, relaxing, fun,…insert your pleasure here.

Heal with cake and smile with pie.

Today it’s a Chocolate Lemon Cream Pie.
A lemon zested crust, lemon curd and cream, and then chocolate mousse on top, you’ll not know whether to slurp or swoon.
I just say, “Smile.”

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Chocolate Lemon Cream Pie

Crust:
8 Tbs. cold butter, cubed into 1/2″ pieces
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 large egg
1 Tbs. white vinegar
zest of 1 fresh lemon
2-3 Tbs. ice water

Preheat the oven to 375.
Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor, minus the water. Pulse until crumbly, slowly adding just enough water until you have beady dough. Transfer to parchment paper and form into a mound. Top with another layer of parchment and roll out into an 11″ circle. Transfer to a 9″ pie plate, trimming and tucking the rim and fluting the edges.
Fill with pie weights and bake for about 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Lemon Cream:
12 oz. homemade Easy Lemon Curd
8 oz. cream cheese, softened

Once the Easy Lemon Curd has cooled and set (possibly make this ahead of time, by a day or two), combine with the cream cheese in a food processor and whir until super smooth.

Fill the pie crust with the Lemon Cream and chill for several hours.

Chocolate Mousse:
1 cup dark chocolate chips
2 cups cream

This definitely needs to be done the day before, just like the Fresh Lemon Curd.
Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate and cream together, stirring constantly, until well combined. Transfer to the fridge and cool overnight. You want this to be ice cold for whipping.
The next morning, whip the mixture until stiff peaks form.
Spread over the Lemon Cream layer of the pie and chill again, to allow to fully set before slicing and serving.

Did you know you really loved lemons and chocolate together?