No-Bake Chocolate Raspberry Cream Pie

I just got back from a little weekend in Denver for Spring Break so I'll make this short and sweet, like the pie. This pie has intrigued me since I ripped the recipe out of a magazine last Summer for a few reasons. For one, you incorporate real melted chocolate into chocolate cookie crumbs for the crust and I have never seen that done before. Second, there are no "thickeners" in the filling. By that, I mean, no cornstarch, flour, eggs or gelatin. Actually, it's the fresh lemon juice that you add to the sweetened condensed milk, and raspberries (among other ingredients), that reacts in a certain way, and thickens up the whole thing as it sits in the refrigerator. The result is silky clean slices of pie. By the way, I totally took a picture of the magazine pie and posted it up there. The rest are my photo's. My pie was not as pretty when all was said and done because I couldn't adorn it the same way :(

I had to use frozen defrosted raspberries. Don't do this. The point is to have a fresh raspberry pie, after all. I had no choice as they were out of raspberries at my store. I was very sad. While the end result probably tastes almost exactly the same, the color was off because of all the juice you get when berries defrost. It was more the color of boysenberry, than raspberry, but I'm not complaining.

This pie comes together quickly, but allow time for refrigeration. It needs 4 hours, minimum, to firm up. This pie is great but it should be noted that it is a shortcut type of recipe so the taste can't be compared to a true raspberry cream pie. This is lighter, and more reminiscent of yogurt than cream. The filling is just a mix of sweet, bright, and tangy ingredients. Perfect for a BBQ. This would be awesome topped with fresh whipped cream and I am adding it to the final recipe.

No-Bake Chocolate Raspberry Cream Pie

adapted from Bon Appetit, July 2009

7 ounces chocolate wafer cookies (or teddy grahams) about 32, coarsely broken

1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/4 cup sugar

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup creme fraiche (or a mix of 1/8 cup sour cream, 1/8 cup whipping cream)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

2 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (two 6 ounce containers)

Sweetened whipped cream, for topping (optional)

Place cookies in a food processor. using on/off turns, process until finely ground. Place chocolate chips, butter, and sugar in microwave safe bowl. microwave on high at 15-second intervals until melted, stirring occasionally. Add chocolate mixture to processor and blend until combined. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch glass pie dish (do not pack firmly). Chill crust while preparing filling.

Whisk condensed milk, creme fraiche, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a large bowl to blend. Add half of the raspberries. Stir, pressing gently on some raspberries, until raspberries begin to break apart and filling turns pink. Transfer filling to crust. Chill until filling is set, about 4 hours.

Spread sweetened whipped cream over pie, if using, and scatter remaining raspberries over pie. Cut into wedges and serve.