Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake Pie

I had a small breakdown Tuesday afternoon at the Walmart parking lot in Nashville. The cafe-cookbook contract had snagged on a delivery-schedule clause the lawyer was pushing back on, the agent had been on the phone with the publisher’s lawyer for two hours that afternoon, Brayden had refused his nap and was in the truck having a small meltdown of his own, the apartment was a mess at home, and somewhere between the loaded grocery cart and the truck I sat down on the asphalt next to the cart corral and cried for fifteen minutes. A middle-aged woman pushing a cart back to the corral stopped, knelt, asked if I was okay. I said I was. I was. The breakdown was just a small breakdown that needed to happen and was passing.

The woman sat on the asphalt with me for a minute and didn’t say anything. She asked if I had someone to call. I said I did. She said okay and went back to her car. The kindness from a stranger was the part of the moment that broke me back into okay.

The contract issue resolved Wednesday afternoon. The publisher accepted a revised delivery schedule. The cafe-cookbook is back on track.

Sunday I made chocolate mousse cheesecake pie because the dish is the kind of comfort dessert that lives in my mental kit for hard weeks. Chocolate mousse cheesecake pie is the cross-format dessert that combines a mousse-light texture with a cheesecake-rich body in a chocolate-cookie crust.

The technique: the chocolate cookie crust. A sleeve of Oreos crushed with five tablespoons of melted butter, pressed into a nine-inch pie plate, refrigerated.

The mousse-cheesecake filling: eight ounces of softened cream cheese beaten with three-quarters cup of powdered sugar for three minutes. Add a teaspoon of vanilla. Melt eight ounces of dark chocolate over a double boiler and cool slightly. Beat the chocolate into the cream cheese mixture.

The mousse element: in a separate bowl, beat one and a half cups of heavy cream with a tablespoon of powdered sugar to stiff peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate-cream-cheese mixture in three additions until smooth and uniform.

Pour the filling into the chilled crust. Refrigerate at least four hours, ideally overnight.

The garnish: a final dollop of whipped cream on top, a drizzle of chocolate sauce, chocolate shavings.

Dustin had two slices.

Cream-cheese-chocolate base, whipped cream folded in three additions. Chilled at least four hours. Here’s the build.

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 4 hrs 25 min (includes chilling) | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 pre-made chocolate cookie crumb crust (9-inch)
8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons whole milk
Chocolate shavings or sprinkles, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Melt the chocolate. Combine chocolate chips and milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until fully melted and smooth. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Beat the cream cheese layer. In a large bowl, beat softened cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract; beat until fluffy and well combined.
Whip the cream. In a separate chilled bowl, whip 1 1/2 cups of the heavy cream with the cocoa powder on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 3—4 minutes. Set the remaining 1/2 cup cream aside for topping.
Combine the filling. Fold the cooled melted chocolate into the cream cheese mixture until no streaks remain. Gently fold in the cocoa whipped cream in two additions, keeping as much volume as possible.
Fill the crust. Spoon the chocolate mousse cheesecake filling into the cookie crust and spread evenly with a spatula.
Chill. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight, until fully set.
Top and serve. Before serving, whip the remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream to soft peaks and dollop or pipe over the top. Garnish with chocolate shavings or sprinkles if desired. Slice and serve cold.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake Pie