We celebrated Father’s Day this year in Kingwood, Texas. We had planned barbecue at Jame’s and Ruth’s, but woke up Sunday morning to a non-cooling air conditioner downstairs. If you have ever been in the Houston area between April and October you will understand why that was a problem. We changed the location to Chris and Doug’s house. Chris graciously contributed this delicious pie for our Father’s day feast. It is a recipe that was published in the Houston Chronicle. Chris decreased the amount of cayenne pepper and I have taken it down from the original 1 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon. I recommend adjusting it to your personal taste. It makes the pie really interesting. My first reaction was yum, such a wonderful chocolate pie, then comes the surprise from the cayenne as it hits the back of your tongue. It was delicious! Thanks Chris

Ingredients-
FILLING
¼ cup cornstarch
½ cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
2 large egg yolks, beaten
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

TOPPING
1½ cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-4 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 baked pie crust

Method-
Mix cornstarch, sugar and salt in a heavy saucepan. Add milk and egg yolks. Whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat stirring with a whisk until mixture thickens. Turn off the heat and whisk in the chocolate and cream cheese. Add cayenne pepper, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Whisk until blended. Cool completely.

In a large mixing bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar to the whipped cream. Add 1 cup to the cooled chocolate mixture and whisk to blend.

Pour into the pie crust. Spread the remaining whipped cream over the top of the pie and sprinkle with cinnamon. Chill six hours.