Chocolate Cream Pie

One of the best things about leaving Bequia during the summer was the way in which my brain batteries got recharged.  Dining at restaurants as well as the homes of friends and family often gave me fresh ideas for the menu at Mac’s, and I always returned to the Island eager to try new recipes.

While staying with friends in Muskoka in northern Canada Mac and I were given cake for dessert, and it was without a doubt the most delicious cake we had ever eaten.  We were told it was hazelnut cake, and the recipe was graciously provided by our hostess.  My heart sank when I looked at the list of ingredients I would need, with the exception of flour and eggs the recipe was definitely going to be a challenge!

When we got back to Bequia Mac and I took another look at the recipe.  Hazelnuts were not an option, although Mac DID have a stash of Nutella, a chocolate/hazelnut spread from Martinique.  The whipping cream wasn’t available in the shops, neither was pure almond essence, and I decided to just forget about the cake.  Mac didn’t give up so easily, and when the Captain of the Yankee Clipper found out that I needed whipping cream he dropped some off at the Pizzeria for me.  When I tried to pay for the precious English cream he suggested giving him some of the dessert in return, and that he would gladly  bring cream for me every time he was in Port.

That’s when Mac’s famous chocolate cream pie was born.  Mac and I worked on the crust together and I have to say it was fabulous.  We crushed walnuts with a rolling pin, which released the oil from the nuts.  We added a bit of sifted icing sugar for sweetness, some good quality vanilla, melted butter and just enough flour to bind.  This was patted into the pie dish and baked until brown.  While still hot we smoothed Mac’s nutella over the top of the crust and allowed it to cool.

I made an easy chocolate custard for the filling, making sure it was just the right texture, then topped the custard with the whipped cream.  To finish off the pie we grated some unsweetened bakers’ chocolate across the top and put it in the cooler to chill.

That pie was to die for.  The Captain of the Yankee Clipper fell in love at first bite, and brought me English cream each time he came to Bequia so that he could have more.  I made the pie often, but many pizza customers moaned that they were too full to contemplate eating anything so rich for dessert.  The pie was rich due to the walnut crust with Nutella, not to mention the whipped cream!  Mac loved that chocolate cream pie and I let him take full credit for the recipe, even though making pie instead of cake was my idea!  He insisted that the Nutella was what made the pie special and I think he was right.

One day Captain Matt from the Mandalay invited us on board for dinner along with our friends Glen and Donna.  He knew about the Chocolate Cream pie and asked me to bring some out to the Clipper for dessert.  We carried three pies on board so that the rest of the crew could have some, then settled in for the sunset swizzle time up on deck.

After dinner (which of course featured chocolate cream pie for dessert) Captain Matt sent for the chef.  When the fellow appeared from the galley Matt asked him if he could make the pie.  The chef had already studied the pie, and could see that the custard and whipped cream would be easy to make.  Turning to me he asked, “but how you make de basement?”.   I think of him every time I make a pie crust, basement indeed!

That’s how a recipe for hazelnut cake given to me in Canada became Mac’s Chocolate Cream Pie.  It wasn’t even remotely close to the cake we had exclaimed over, but the pie was fantastic and was a family favorite for many years.