If the very thought of Mile High Pie sends you slipping into the newly-reopened Pontchartrain Hotel for a luscious slice, Pastry Chef Erin Swanson shows Eric Paulsen and cookbook author Kit Wohl how to make the iconic Mile High Pie in the following recipe.
In addition to dinner, the hotel's Caribbean Room (2031 St. Charles Avenue, www.thepontchartrainhotel.com) has launched Friday lunch and Sunday brunch simply to give us more opportunities to indulge.
MILE HIGH PIE
1 quart Peppermint Ice Cream
1 quart Vanilla Ice Cream
1 quart Chocolate Ice Cream
1 jar Marshmallow Fluff
1 or 2 Chocolate Cookie Pie Crusts (based on size of stainless steel bowl)
1 jar Chocolate Sauce
1 medium sized stainless steel bowl
1. In a mixing bowl, use a rubber spatula to mix the peppermint ice cream until it’s the consistency of soft serve ice cream.
2. Place the peppermint ice cream in the medium stainless steel bowl, being sure to smooth out the ice cream as much as possible. Place in the freezer for at least 1 hour.
3. Place the vanilla ice cream in another bowl and mix to soft serve consistency, then layer it on top of the peppermint ice cream. Let vanilla ice cream freeze for at least 1 hour.
4. Repeat the same steps with the chocolate ice cream, layering onto the vanilla and allowing to freeze.
5. Crumble the cookie crust and sprinkle generously on top of the chocolate ice cream. Using the bottom of a water glass, press the cookie crumble into the chocolate ice cream, making sure it is dense enough to hold the slice of pie.
6. Freeze entire pie overnight.
7. The next day, place a plate on the bottom of the bowl and invert the bowl. Using your hands (or a small blowtorch, if handy!), gently warm the bowl and shake gently to remove the ice cream from the bowl. If pie is resistant, try placing a skewer inside the center of the ice cream to help release it.
8. Once the bowl is removed, freeze pie on the plate for an additional hour.
9. Spoon or pipe the marshmallow fluff onto the outside of the ice cream and burn with a blowtorch (or leave plain).
10. Chill for another hour or so to allow the fluff to firm up, then cut and serve with a generous drizzle of chocolate sauce.
CHOCOLATE SAUCE
10 ounces dark chocolate
3.5 ounces light corn syrup
5 ounces water, boiling
Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Add the corn syrup to the chocolate. Slowly stir in the boiling water. Mix completely, keep warm until served.
The recipe is courtesy of Kit Wohl's book New Orleans Classic Desserts (Pelican Publishing). Kit appears regularly in the kitchen on the Sunday edition of Eyewitness Morning News, Sundays at 6 a.m. on Channel 4.