I really hate to brag.

Let me tell you a story.

Once upon a time, Allie came to me and said, "Maddie, I bought heavy whipping cream for a recipe and then only needed like a tablespoon. So now I have a bunch of whipping cream and I don't want it to go bad. You are the only one who would know what to do with it, so....figure something out." 

Naturally, I didn't need to think twice about accepting Allie's challenge. Visions of whipped cream began to dance through my head. Whip it with vanilla and sugar and eat it straight out of the bowl? Make a creamy Alfredo sauce? I considered a few options, even going as far as googling "uses for heavy whipping cream" just to make sure that I had all the bases covered. But, after some serious contemplation, I settled on the first thought I'd had. The only truly logical one, if you ask me. 

After an afternoon of crushing, whipping, folding, melting, baking, cooling, and toasting, I came up with this:

This, my friends, is a Chocolate Lover's Chocolate Mousse Pie. Not only does it have a homemade chocolate graham cracker crust (the first one I'd ever made, actually), but, in-between the crust and the mousse, there is a layer of pure chocolate. Now that is my kind of pie. We didn't have quite enough whipping cream to do a garnish on top, so I improvised and toasted some coconut that I'd mixed with butter, cocoa, sugar, and cinnamon. It was a very good improvisation, if I do say so myself. 

Like the title says, I really hate to brag, but...I think this may have been one of the best things I've ever eaten. And if you have ever eaten anything baked/cooked by my mother, either of my grandmothers, or my sister-in-law, you understand that that's really saying something. No joke. I can't wait to recreate this using really high-quality chocolate; if it's rich now, I can't imagine how it would taste with good chocolate and not just Kroger brand semi-sweet. 

And, if my testimonial isn't enough, here is a picture of our progress on the pie about a minute and a half after cutting it. (For the record, there were three of us eating this...not just me)

And here is a close up of the coconut, because I thought it was pretty. That was monumental for me because I can usually make something taste pretty decent, but it's not often that my baked creations look pretty. I could prove this with the story of James' Ugly Missionary Cake, but that is another story for another time. 

Ok, now that I have all this bragging out of my system, I am going to get back to real life. Have a great day!