Memphis - Missississipi Mud pie

Blog 2

Missississpi  Mud Pie- Traveling down the Missississpi river !

So the time came to travel down a really long river with a really long name you guessed it the Missississpi River. We were traveling from Memphis to the home of Mardi Gras New Orleans and we were so excited the party capital of America was in are sight.  So as we settled down into are wonderful chair beds we relaxed for the first time in a few days something about this train journey was special. It was a 6 in the morning train and we were still sleepy so the journey began with a nap of courses I am a student I can’t function without my daily nap.

 After a short 4 hour nap we woke up awake and ready to investigate. The Amtrak’s trains which were the trains we were traveling on were huge. They make Scotrail look like toy trains. In fact they are so big they all have a restaurant on board which was great cause I am always hungry.  So my first instinct was what’s on the menu now the food on Amtrak’s is exactly what you would expect microwavable everything anything that can go in a microwave they have it. Now to say that the food is questionable would be an understatement but at least they seem to practise good health and safety.

So of course I avoid the microwaveable hot dog and burger and head straight for the basic pizza. Of courses you guessed it was horrible and I can’t say I was surprised it wasn’t nice the other 10 times I had it either. However when you’re hungry you will eat whatever is available even if it’s served on cardboard.

So we are just chilling out in the trains restaurant and an older lady approaches us and says she needs help writing a letter to her daughter could we help. So as we wrote a letter for her in the best American type lingo we could she gave us a cake it was so good with a thick gooey chocolaty middle and a nice thick crunchy biscuit base it tasted like heaven. I asked the women what the cake was and when she said Missississpi Mud Pie I could help but look outside at the one and only Missississipi river and realises how lucky I was to be experiencing the world and how hard I had worked to get there.

So here is my version of an American classic the Missississipe mud pie which I have adapted. I have taken the biscuit base and turned it into a soft crispy pastry shell which changes the appearance of the dish. However I have kept the gooey chocolate middle with one adaption of extra chocolate. Hope you enjoy your little slice of one and only Missississpi.

Mississippi mud pie with a pastry twist

Ingredients (Pastry)

·         190g plain flour, sifted

·         2 tablespoons caster sugar

·         ½ teaspoon salt

·         100g chilled unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces

·         1 egg yolk

·         2 tablespoons chilled water

·         First of all preheat the oven to 180 degrees

The pastry is made first so that it can be chilled in the fridge for 30 minutes. First of all swift the flour salt and sugar into a bowl then weigh the butter and cut into small pieces. Then place the butter into the flour mixture and rub the mixture between your fingers lifting it right out the bowl to make sure lots of air gets into the mixture. When the mixture looks like breadcrumbs it is ready. Mix the egg yolk and water in a small bowl and add to the breadcrumbs slowly using a round bladed knife to gently bring the mixture together. You may not need all off the liquid. When the mixture begins to clump bring it together using your hands into a firm ball then chill.

When you are ready to prepare the pastry case, roll it out and line your flan tin, keeping chilled till you are ready to fill and bake.

For the filling:

·         30g plain chocolate, chopped

·         6 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted

·         2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder

·         3 eggs

·         250g caster sugar

·         2 tablespoons soured cream

·         3 tablespoons golden syrup

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract or essence

For the filling, gently melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate, cocoa powder and coffee, stirring until all the chocolate has melted. Set aside.

Beat the eggs and the sugar together until the mixture is creamy and blended, then add the soured cream, golden syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir that mixture into the chocolate and coffee mixture.

Pour the filling into the pastry shell. Bake on the hot baking sheet in the lower third of the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the filling puffs up and forms a crust on top.

Remove from the oven and place pie on a wire rack to cool.

The filling will sink a little and crack a little as it cools.

When you are ready to serve, decorate the pie with chocolate curls; any colour chocolate will do very nicely, and vanilla ice cream also goes down a treat with this Mississippi mud pie recipe.

Keeps for 2 days in the refrigerator. Makes 8 to 10 slices.