What’s A Better Combination Than Berries And Chocolate?

Berries are plentiful this time of year, so I decided to celebrate their abundance with a berry extravaganza.

I craved fresh berries with chantilly cream, the fluffy, French-style vanilla whipped cream. I also longed for the taste of a homemade berry pie. So I thought it would be fun to put them together and make a pie filled with berries and cream.

Better yet, why not add chocolate? I find that berries and chocolate make a winning combination, as long as the chocolate does not overpower the delicate taste of the berries.

I used a delicious German trick of brushing the pastry base with a thin layer of melted bittersweet chocolate. Then I filled the crust with chantilly cream, into which I folded blueberries and raspberries.

Another time I tried it with halved strawberries, and this version of the pie was also luscious and beautiful. A week later I prepared the dessert again and added mini chocolate chips to the berry filling to enhance the subtle chocolate taste.

Fortunately, this scrumptious pie is easy to make. When I have time, I prepare a tart shell from sweet pie pastry.

Berry and Cream Pie With Chocolate

Few pies are easier to make than this delectable creation of berries and whipped cream in a chocolate-coated shell.

1 (9-inch) pie shell, baked

2 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1-1/2 cups sliced strawberries (sliced about 1/2 inch thick)

1 cup whipping cream, well-chilled

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Additional strawberry slices and mini chocolate chips for garnish

Let pie shell cool. Melt chopped chocolate in small bowl above pan of hot water set over low heat; stir until smooth. Remove pan from water and let cool. Brush chocolate on base and sides of pie shell but not on top edge of crust. Refrigerate 15 minutes.

Halve any large strawberry slices. Combine cream, sugar and vanilla in large chilled bowl and whip until stiff. Fold chocolate chips and sliced strawberries into cream. Spoon filling into pie. Spread evenly, mounding in center. Refrigerate pie, uncovered, about 30 minutes before serving.

Before serving, garnish with ring of strawberry slices and sprinkling of mini chocolate chips in center. When serving, press firmly with knife to cut pastry base with its firm chocolate coating.

Yield: 6 servings.

Variation: For Blueberry-Raspberry Cream Pie With Chocolate, instead of sliced strawberries, use 3/4 cup fresh blueberries and 3/4 cup fresh raspberries. Garnish pie with few blueberries and raspberries.