I am not good at math, but I DO know how to make dessert, so in honor of National Pi Day (3.14), I present you with my Frozen Chocolate Salted Caramel Boozy Pie. Which is made with Bailey’s Irish cream so it just so happens to be perfect for St. Patty’s Day on Thursday. Which ties hand in hand with my TV appearance on the WPIX Morning Show this Wednesday. See what I did there?
Now in my calculations, chocolate pie crust + chocolate cake + Bailey’s Salted Caramel spiked, mousse-like chocolate pudding + chocolate ganache = SUCCESS. And that is addition I can do in my head.
This frozen creation was inspired by our love of pudding shots–a sophisticated version of Jell-O shots… if there is such a thing. Two summers ago, our good friend Erin made lemon meringue and mudslide flavors for a group trip to Cape Cod for Hubby’s birthday. Every day we would each help ourselves to one or two little cups from the freezer, which made for an incredibly refreshing, ice-cream style buzz.
My wheels started turning. While the individual portions were fun for an afternoon pick-me-up, I immediately envisioned the lemon meringue version in a graham cracker pie crust with whipped cream over top. However, when I went to the liquor store to gather ingredients, I spotted something new on the counter: Bailey’s Salted Caramel. It sang to me, begging to be used in a recipe. And so, my chocolate salted caramel pudding shot was born.
My new creation was incredibly popular. It flew out of the freezer when we hosted parties at our home. (Confession: I had to hide some in the back so we didn’t have to share them all!), and was the topic of conversation when I brought them to summer events.
So for Hubby’s birthday the following year, I knew what had to be done. And a pie just wasn’t enough.
Here’s how it all went down. I filled the chocolate crust with cake. YES, you got that right, CAKE mix, and baked it to perfection. Once cooled, I added a layer of my chocolate salted caramel pudding mousse, poured a smooth chocolate ganache over the top, then froze it before serving.
This cool, sweet, salty, caramel chocolate treat is 100% delicious, with an A+ giddy buzz/sugar high!
Tune in to the WPIX Morning Show this Wednesday to see this, and more of That’s SO Jenn’s St. Patty’s Day recipes!
For cake:
1 1/2 cups boxed chocolate cake mix
Half amount of eggs (if it says 3, use 2), oil, and water–each brand’s measurements are different
For pudding (You’ll use about half the mixture):
1 (3 1/2 ounce) box instant chocolate pudding mix, the small size
3⁄4 cup milk
3⁄4 cup Bailey’s Salted Caramel Irish Cream (3 nips)
8 ounces Cool Whip
For ganache:
6 oz. chocolate chips
12 oz. heavy cream
Prepare half of boxed cake using 1 1/2 cups of mix, and pour it into pie crust.
Bake about 20-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Allow cake to cool and mix together pudding mix, milk, Cool Whip and Bailey’s Salted Caramel. Pour about half over cooled cake layer. Use the rest for pudding shots in individual plastic cups with tops or store the rest in your empty Cool Whip container!
Freeze pie.
Pour chocolate chips into a bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil, then immediately pour over chocolate chips.
Stir until smooth, then pour over pudding layer. Smooth evenly over top.
Freeze and enjoy a giddy, buzzed sugar high!
