Friday, October 8, 2010

Mocha Memories

Continuing on with another Pillsbury dessert, today I share with you a vintage pie recipe. Every once in awhile when I'm at my in-laws house, I'll grab a cookbook off the shelf and start reading, looking for inspiration. My cookbook of choice was the Pillsbury's Bake-Off Dessert Cook Book, copyright 1968. There were a lot of good looking recipes in there and surprisingly quite a few of them included marshmallows. Apparently in 1968, marshmallows were the big thing!

I chose this recipe for Mocha Frappe Pie for a reason, other than because it made me salivate. When Mr. H and I were first dating (11 years ago) he introduced me to Starbucks Mocha Frappuccinos- it was love at first drink. If for some reason, you live on another planet and have never had a Mocha Frap, it's a blended coffee drink with chocolate syrup- it's frosty and addicting. But before I ever had the icy treat from the coffee shop, I had the milky bottled variety. We used to distinguish the two by calling the blended version, the "fresh" Frap.

A typical date night for us consisted of dinner at T.G.I.Friday's or Chili's, because as teenagers that's all we knew, as well as a sappy romantic movie at the theater. Afterwards we'd grab a "fresh one" for dessert and drive around town wasting gas without a care in the world. They were perfect evenings. On school days, he used to pick me up and greet me with a cinnamon raisin bagel or a Power Bar and a Frap for breakfast. These days we just grab one while we're out and about running errands, but making this pie reminded me of our growing love for eachother. This was my way of giving him the freshest Mocha Frappe of all.

The combination of flavors brought back some good memories. This pie is creamy and sweet with an almost mousse-like filling, which is a contrast from the sticky, gooey chocolaty marshmallow layer on the bottom of the crust. The original recipe called for a pastry crust but I knew a chocolate cookie crust would be a perfect match for the mocha- it was fantastic. I also may have added a bit more of espresso powder because I like a pronounced coffee flavor. Topping off the pie was a fluffy ring of unsweetened cream and chopped toasted pecans. This was a special pie, for a special man.

Mocha Frappe Pie adapted from Pillsbury

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Crust:
  • 1-1/4 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
  • 3 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:

  • 1/2 lb. (about 35-40) large marshmallows
  • 3 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 cup evaporated milk
  • 3 teaspoons instant coffee or espresso powder
  • 1 cup (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream

To make the crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients until well blended.

Press firmly onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes until set. Cool completely.

To make the filling: In top of a double boiler, combine marshmallows, sugar, evaporated milk and instant coffee/espresso powder.

Cook over boiling water, stirring occasionally,until marshmallows are melted. Remove from heat. (This can be done in the microwave, but be sure to keep a close eye on it so it doesn't boil over.)

Stir in chocolate chips until well blended. Cool completely.

Spread 3/4 cup of the cooled filling into the bottom of the cooled crust.

In a separate bowl, beat heavy cream until thick. Fold whipped cream into the remaining chocolate mixture. Pour over chocolate layer.

Chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Top with additional whipped cream, chocolate curls or chopped pecan if desired.

Collage pie!

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Totally yummy!

From the Kitchen said...

That must be one delicious dessert, especially with such a lovely memory attached to the making of it.

Best,
Bonnie

Anonymous said...

Mcha mocha mocha! I smy mom's favorite flavor for everything! If I make this for her she'll die! Thanks! I adooore the final picture of the collage! Genius! (:

-Amalia

http://buttersweetmelody.wordpress.com

oneordinaryday said...

Aww, I liked the story about your and the Mr. :) And the pie sounds yummy. I'm totally addicted to peppermint mocha fraps and my sweet mom will occasionally drop a gift card in the mail to me to help support my habit. I guess she's an enabler? LOL

Oh, that last photo with the 4 steps together is awesome.

Avril said...

That's it! - I'm getting on the next plane to Texas and coming down to see you Monica!....this pie is just gorgeously delicious!!!! :-)

Debbie said...

I'm addicted to mocha drinks and love Starbucks mocha's!!! What a sweet story behind your dessert. The pie looks delicious and I love the mocha and marshmallow combo!I also enjoy reading through old cookbooks. You can really find interesting recipes and desserts in them.

Miranda said...

Cute story! LOVE LOVE LOVE the collage photo of the pie. Very clever.

I am also a Mocha 'fresh' Frap lover. I try to recreate them at home.

Cassie said...

Oh YUM. The pie looks awesome, and I can't wait to try it! Such a sweet story, too. And I love the collage photo at the end!

Foodiewife said...

We share planets. I love Mocha Fraps, and so does my waistline.
Great call on the chocolate crust. Chocolate and mocha are meant for each other. You're having fun on Picnik! What a great idea!

Desi said...

looks delish! how do you put the pics together in a group of 4 together? like a collage? really cool effect!

Memória said...

MMMM! Your chocolate frappé pie looks so good.

cybil said...

wow that looks delicios!!

Hennifer said...

Not a coffee lover in any form but I love the pie collage!!!

vanillasugarblog said...

i LOVE how you decorated the edge! i have to steal that. i am making those lemon-sour cream muffins w/ something else added in LOL

Healthy and Homemade said...

Oh God yum. And the collage at the end is too cool!

Megan said...

Monica - your photos never cease to amaze me - and that pie......oh momma you'd better believe I'll be making that soon!

LaVieEnStyle said...

wooow monica this looks delicious... and the picture you made with the pie on different stages looks amazing!!!
I made today some puff pastry with chocolate chips sticks (don't know how to explain it better), for my best friend who is going to live to Israel...
Hugs
Daniel

Coley Loree said...

Your pie looks amazing and I can't wait to give it a try. However, it is your Collage Pie that makes me just bow down in unworthiness. Amazing as usual!

Jane said...

Gorgeous mocha pie, and I love your "collage photo"! Very clever! I have that same old cookbook that you used and I love its retro factor. Great post.

Lorraine said...

Mocha Lite Frappuccino...that is my drink! I love it. Your pie looks beautiful and delicious. Pilsbury from 1968...how cool! I love your collage pie picture. That is really helpful..thanks:)

Faith said...

awww! You guys were cute!!!! (are cute!) I live in the PACNW and honestly there are a million places up here that have DELICIOUS coffee. My current fav is a german chocolate frappuchino! NOM!

Coleens Recipes said...

Your collage photo is genius!!! This looks delicious.

Unknown said...

What a sweet story! I love the growing love. And I love the collage pie at the end. Thanks for sharing this recipe and a little piece of your past with Mr. H.

Abby said...

Sweet, sappy and sugary. Just how I like it! Ha. Cute story! My husband would love that pie, too. (And he brings me *bucks drinks, too. Iced caramel machiattos! Yummm.)

Anonymous said...

How sweet (literally)! I think it's wonderful that you two do little things to constantly remind you of your beginning relationship, like picking up a frap while doing errands! I also have to say that I love the "Collage Pie" idea! It came out very nice! Great post!

Heather S-G said...

Love that collage pie..too cool :D And yeah...this sounds great!!

Anonymous said...

This looks crazy good! and i really enjoyed the trip down memory lane. thanks for sharing. :)

Katie said...

Looks delicious and very chocolaty yet still light and moussy. I loved hearing how Mr H introduced you to new foods and brought you breakfast treats, thats so romantic :) Its amazing how foods can give us such strong memories.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

I'm one of those weird ones that have never had a Starbucks, Mocha Frappe or Frappe anything from there. Shocked, right?! :)

Love that collage pie!
~ingrid

henning love said...

wow! making this pie very son my husband would love me even if i made this for him!

Anonymous said...

Monica,

What type of chocolate cookies did you use? Oreos?

Tracy

Monica H said...

Tracy, I used Babusco Fanius wafers, but you could use Oreos with the filling removed.

Monica

Anonymous said...

Monica,
Thank you for getting back so quickly about what chocolate cookies you used. I made this yesterday on Christmas, and it was wonderful. I look forward to making it again sometime.

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