CurvyMama couldn’t very well hold her head up proudly as a pie baker if she didn’t bake anything for National Pie Day. Luckily, there was no chance of this happening, since this most delicious of holidays coincided with the delivery of pies to my beloved Pie-of-the-Month-Club members.
The selection this month is Aztec Chocolate Chess, my bewitching blend of fudgy, brownie-like filling with notes of cinnamon and chipotle (you read about it last year when I came up with this recipe). So I decided to deepen the celebration by baking a couple more of those babies for my dear co-workers, who have provided invaluable services as tasters, cheerleaders and critics. That’s how four Aztec Chocolate Chesses went into my oven on a cold January night.
Because no National Pie Day would be complete without eating pie–or at least drooling over it–here are some photos of my winter’s eve with Aztec Chocolate Chess. (The recipe’s in the post from last year.)
Getting the unsweetened chocolate and butter ready to hop into the double boiler…
Putting the sugars in a big bowl…
Mixing them up and adding the hot butter-and-chocolate mixture…
Whisking in the eggs…
Adding the spices, vanilla, vinegar and cornmeal…
And coming up with a bowlful of the most yummilicious chocolate filling…
Taking the par-baked crusts out of the oven…
The filled pies in the reduced-heat oven for finishing…
And out again, still puffed up before cooling.
Happy National Pie Day!