Homemade Chocolate Pie Experiment: aka, The Terrible Awful

If you haven't already read the book and/or seen the film, The Help, I highly recommend both in a major way. This at home experiment was inspired by the character Minny, from The Help, 

and her infamous chocolate pie (sans the "terrible awful", of course). 

I had never tried my hand at a pie before, not that this bears the same level of difficulty as say the likes of a fruit pie, but nevertheless when it comes to any kind of baking my skills are a mixed bag regardless the simplicity of the recipe. I decided right off the bat not to make the pie crust from scratch {the margin of error felt too great!}, so I opted for a pre-formed, frozen pie crust to fill with this chocolatey, fudgy, custard-like filling.

{Recipe}

1 packaged pie dough crust, such as Pillsbury, or a frozen pie crust pre-formed in the pan
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract {I used pure vanilla powder instead}
1/4 teaspoon salt
Whipped cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350°. Ease the pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate and crimp the edges decoratively. Prick the crust lightly with a fork. Bake for 20 minutes or until pie crust is set, but not brown.
{If you choose to use a pre-formed frozen pie crust there's no need to pre-bake before filling.}

In a bowl, whisk {or use an electric mixer} to combine the sugar with the cocoa powder, butter, eggs {make sure you've beaten the eggs, it does actually seem to make a difference}, evaporated milk, vanilla and salt until mixture is smooth.

Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake for about 45 minutes, until the filling is set around the edges but a little jiggly in the center. 

Transfer the pie to a rack and let cool completely before cutting into wedges. Serve with whipped cream.

*If you want to make this pie ahead, you can easily refrigerate it overnight until serving time!

Survey says: Terrible awful, indeed!!!! This pie is so dang good that I found myself desperately wanting to slay it piece by piece, entirely on my own and before anyone else had a chance to taste it. In fact, I recommend making two pies... you know, just in case you get carried away with the nibbling!