Worms in the Mud Pies

That doesn't look too appetising does it? Well it's actually really yummy. It's something that's super easy and fun to make for Halloween, cos it's a little bit gross looking and it's full of sugar. And chocolate. It's another idea that I got from my guilty pleasure girly TV show. Chocolate pie with an oreo cookie crust and gummi worms. It's mud pie, with worms! Ewww..but yum!

You could do this as one big pie, or do individual serves like me because I suck at cutting neat slices of pie and it's easier to share. There's very little baking involved, just a lot of stirring to make sure you don't get lumps in the chocolate custard. The oreo crust is a little fiddly, but it doesn't need to be neat - the messier it looks, the more it looks like dirt!

The most fun part is in the decorating. I grabbed a whole bunch of snakes and sour gummi worms, don't they look all squishy and slimy coming out of the mud? And I broke up some pieces of Flake chocolate to look like logs and bits of broken wood. This is something you could get your kids to help you decorate. Feel free to go crazy with it - maybe some green jelly to look like slime?

As for how it tastes, the chocolate cream filling is silky and light, the buttermilk helps to cut through any bitterness. I actually found my mixture was quite sweet, so you could reduce the sugar by a quarter cup or so if you don't want to make people too sugar high. I love oreo pie crusts, the less you pack it together the better since the baking will set the crust well and if it's too tightly packed it will be hard to break through with a fork. If you want a more elegant, non-Halloween themed dessert, just take out the gummi worms and it's deliciously impressive.

Worms in the Mud Pie
(makes one large pie or can be split into 4-6 individual serves, adapted from this chocolate cream pie recipe)
1 1/2 cups Oreo Cookie Crumbs (about 1 1/2 packets of Oreos, white centres removed and crushed)
115g (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup pouring cream, plus 1/2 cups
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
A pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
4 ounces (115g) good-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tbsp icing sugar
To decorate: Gummi worms (snakes), Flake chocolate

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Combine cookie crumbs and butter well and press into a single pie dish or 4-6 individual dishes. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes to set the crust, then remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

In a small saucepan combine sugar, 3/4 cup cream, buttermilk, cornstarch and pinch of salt, and whisk until smooth. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, whisking from time to time for the sugar and cornstarch to dissolve and the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Continue cooking at a low boil for an additional 5 minutes, whisking constantly.

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly. Pour 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks and whisk thoroughly. Pour the egg yolk mixture back into saucepan with the remaining hot mixture and whisk over the heat until thoroughly combined and very thick, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl, and whisk in the chocolate, butter and vanilla. Continue whisking until thoroughly combined (mixture will be very thick). Cover the mixture with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface and refrigerate until cooled to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Place the 1/2 heavy cream in a chilled mixing bowl and add the icing sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cool chocolate pudding mixture, then spoon the chocolate mixture into the prepared pie crust. Using gummi worms and chocolate, decorate the top of the pie. Refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours. Can be stored for a couple of days in the fridge.