Chocolate cream pie

I'm sharing a basic, but tasty chocolate cream pie recipe I've found so you too can begin your love affair with cream pies. This recipe is especially easy if you use a prepared pie crust -- you'll never even have to turn on the oven!

Basic Chocolate Cream Pie

Ingredients
1 pie crust, baked (Oreo cookie or pastry dough -- homemade or otherwise -- your choice)

Filling
3/4 cup, plus 2 TB granulated sugar
3 1/2 TB cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups whole milk
4 large egg yolks
2 TB unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

Pre-bake the crust, if needed, and set aside.

Directions

• Whisk together all the ingredients, except the butter, vanilla and chocolate, in a heavy saucepan and and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly  -- about 5 or so minutes. 
• Bring the mixture to a boil and continue whisking so it doesn't splatter -- about 1 minute more.
• Remove from the heat and add the butter a piece at a time, whisking to incorporate. 
• Whisk in the vanilla.
• Whisk in the chocolate bit by bit to make sure it melts completely. (You don't want someone to bite into a hunk of unsweetened chocolate!)
• When the mixture is nice and smooth, pour it into the pie shell and smooth the top with a spatula.
• Let it cool down some, then cover with plastic wrap, patting it down all around the filling. (Gaps will cause a skin to form on the top.) 
• Let the pie cool, then transfer it to the fridge to let it set for a day or so. 
• Serve with whipped cream.

There are countless ways to expand on this basic recipe. Flavored whipped cream, different kinds of crusts, incorporating fruit -- the combinations are endless.

Good luck!