California Mudslide Pie

Amateur Winner of 2008 APC Crisco National Pie Championships

1 Pie Crust Baked & Cooled

Brownie/Chocolate Bottom
9 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup plus 2 TBSP flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9" pie pan & an 8" square baking pan with non-stick spray. In a medium saucepan over low heat, stir together chocolate & butter until completely melted. Cool slightly. Beat in sugar. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until completely blended. Stir in vanilla. Fold in flour & salt. Divide batter in half & spread in prepared pans. Bake both pans together in oven until done, or approximately 15 mins. for the 9" pie pan and 25 mins. for the square pan. Test with a toothpick. Cool completely.

Take the brownie in pie dish & place in the bottom of the pie crust, trimming to fit if necessary. Set aside.

Heat 3 oz. chocolate and whipping cream in microwave until melted. Stir and spread over brownie. Refrigerate while preparing filling.

Chocolate Filling:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp. instant espresso powder (I left this out)
8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup caramel ice cream topping

Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Set aside. Heat 1/2 cup whipping cream & espresso until it just simmers. Pour over chocolate & let sit for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. In another bowl, beat the remaining whipping cream until soft peaks form. Fold in half of the cream. Beat the remaining cream until stiff. Fold in whipping cream. Spread 1/2 over brownie. Halfway from center of pie to the edge, make a 1/2 inch wide indentation in filling. Fill with caramel topping. Top with remaining chocolate filling. Prepare topping.

Topping:
2 cups brownie chunks (square pan)
6 oz. semisweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
2 (1.4 oz) Skor candy bars, chopped
caramel topping

Cut brownie into chunks. In a saucepan, heat the cream and chocolate until melted. Stir in reserved brownie chunks and chopped candy bars. Spread over top of pie. Drizzle with caramel topping. Decorate edge of pie with sweetened whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate shavings, if desired. Refrigerate 4 hours. Keep refrigerated.