Gygi Guest Post Contest Winner: Frieda Franchina

Tuesday’s Winner: Frieda Franchina of Frieda Loves Bread.

When Frieda makes a pie crust she chooses to fill it with what she loves most: German Chocolate!

Find out how to make German Chocolate Pie now!

Take it away Frieda:

I love just about any cream pie, and this one is no exception. While creamy, with a mild, bitter-sweet chocolate flavor, it’s the toasted coconut and pecans throughout it that bring it over the top.

The Recipe:

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

3 cup milk

3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (1/2 c)

1 Tbsp margarine or butter

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped pecans (toasted)

1/2 cup toasted sweetened shredded coconut

whipped cream

mini chocolate chips

1 baked pastry pie shell

*Reserve 2 Tbsp of coconut and 2 Tbsp of pecans for garnishing the top of the pie

Let’s get started:

You can use a pudding (non-instant) box mix, but why do that when it is easy to make your own? Here’s how you can make your own vanilla pudding.

It is easy. Add cornstarch with sugar…add milk and then stir.

Add whatever chocolate floats your boat.

In my case, it’s Ghiradelli’s Double Chocolate bittersweet chips….

Bring to a boil over medium high heat while stirring.

Whisk a few eggs with a fork.

Pour about a cup of the hot, bubbly pudding into the whisked eggs and stir thoroughly.

Stir the chocolate/egg mixture back in and boil for a couple of minutes more.

To make sure I don’t have any eggy lumps, I put the pudding mixture through a fine sieve.

(Which was a good thing because there were a few eggy bits dragging behind…)

Add a pat of butter and some fragrant vanilla.

This looks soooo good and creamy! How can it possibly be better?

Introducing… toasted coconut!

Put sweetened shredded coconut in a single layer and put into a 350 degree oven. Bake for 3-5 minutes, watching it very carefully. It can burn quickly!

And don’t forget about the toasted pecans!

Just toast them in another pan with the coconut. Toasting just brings them to a whole other flavor dimension.

Put the filling in the baked pie crust and put a layer of plastic wrap on it. NO MORE PUDDING SKIN!

(I remember pulling the skin off the puddings my mom made and tossing it aside… I just couldn’t bring myself to eat it!)

Let it chill in the fridge for several hours. Then have fun decorating the top with fresh whipped cream, mini-chocolate chips and toasted goodies….

Enjoy!

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Frieda loves bread and is not afraid to say it. Besides, being the bread-making guru and blogging about it, she teaches classes (not demonstrations) on making bread. Check out her site… She’s been Gygi approved!

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Monday’s Winner: High As The Sky Apple Pie