Mississippi Mud Pies

[JohnT]

I have been asked to make individual Mississippi Mud Pies for a catering company and have been doing some Internet searching on the subject. Firstly, MMP's are not very well known in South Africa and I have never seen one or tasted one, so I thought Google was my friend. Well, I have found so many different desserts called MMP's that are so different and varied that I still have no idea what a MMP should look and taste like. I did an eG search as well and came across many mentions of this dessert, but no recipes. Can anybody give me a few pointers or point me to a recipe or two for me to get aquatinted with this "pie".

Just for a bit of extra info, the request is for individual portioned pies made in 70mm (D) x 50mm (H) ring moulds. Any gelatine used must also not be animal derived. The pies can be frozen and should have a shelf life of around 5 days once defrosted or from fresh, if not frozen. Any help will be greatly appreciated. John.

[SylviaLovegren]

This one looks the closest to good ones I've had:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/mississippi-mud-pie-recipe.html

 

Chocolate cookie crust, pecans or walnuts can be added; chocolate pudding center with hint of coffee flavor for a little bite; topped with whipped cream and some crumbled chocolate cookie crumbs,chocolate curls, chocolate sauce and chopped pecans

[heidih]

Based on your note about the gelatine, can you clarify the dietary restriction as it sounds like you are looking for a vegan recipe?

[sugarseattle]

The filling is very similar to a flourless chocolate cake, with a little bit of espresso flavor, so if you have that recipe locked down in your repertoire, I would use that. I think a graham or oreo crust tastes good. The main thing you want is the effect of cracking on the surface, mimicking the cracks in the mud along the Mississippi River. Good luck and have fun with it.

[JohnT]

This one looks the closest to good ones I've had:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/mississippi-mud-pie-recipe.html

 

Chocolate cookie crust, pecans or walnuts can be added; chocolate pudding center with hint of coffee flavor for a little bite; topped with whipped cream and some crumbled chocolate cookie crumbs,chocolate curls, chocolate sauce and chopped pecans

Thanks for that link. It was one I actually found on Google but thought the cream topping did not sound correct. However, it has given me an idea which I hope to develope over the next week or two with a bit of experimentation.

Based on your note about the gelatine, can you clarify the dietary restriction as it sounds like you are looking for a vegan recipe?

heidih, no, it has no vegan issue. However, the catering company requests that I keep is as close to Halaal as possible due to their client base. It is not claimed to be Halaal but they want no gelatine used that is derived from animals. They have given me a few names of substitute products to use if gelatine is needed.

 

The filling is very similar to a flourless chocolate cake, with a little bit of espresso flavor, so if you have that recipe locked down in your repertoire, I would use that. I think a graham or oreo crust tastes good. The main thing you want is the effect of cracking on the surface, mimicking the cracks in the mud along the Mississippi River. Good luck and have fun with it.

Thanks for some enlightenment on how they should look. I have been doing quite a bit of reading on these pies over the past two days and am thinking of something a bit off the beaten track. I have been contemplating using a thin nutty (chopped walnuts?) brownie type base instead of the usual Graham cracker type base. Then a thick chocolate-hazelnut mousse layer topped with a chocolate ganache layer and sprinkled with some Mississippi River gravel (a thin sprinkle of chopped nuts again). I will play with this for a bit and see how it turns out and post a pic or two in the next few weeks. I am a bit pushed for time at the moment having just arrived back in the kitchen after a month traveling and have a massive backlog to catch up with.

Thank for the responses - any further comments will be appreciated.