[Photograph: Lauren Weisenthal]

When I was working in restaurants, there was no day of the year more reviled by the pastry kitchen than Valentine's Day. The special tasting menus, replete with over-the-top desserts for two and the showering of petit fours, after dinner treats, and parting gifts of chocolates were a nightmare. After all that Pepto-colored nonsense, I'd be craving homey comforts. For me this chocolate pudding pie is the expression of my Valentine's Day ideal.

It may look like your average pudding pie, but I assure you, there's nothing boring about the flavor or texture.

To make it, you begin by blind-baking an all butter pie shell that's equal parts sweet and savory, until it has cooked to a golden brown all over, for ultimate crispiness. You make a stove top pudding that's dark and true, the old school way, by whisking non-stop and using the best whole milk, cocoa powder, and the highest-quality chocolate you can get your hands on. Once it's chilled, all it needs is a crown of real whipped cream. It's a pie that, for me, represents love on a plate: comforting, simple, and chocolate.

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Chocolate Pudding Pie »

About the author: Lauren Weisenthal has logged many hours working in restaurant kitchens and bakeries of Brooklyn and Manhattan. She is a graduate of the Artisan Bread Baking and Pastry Arts programs at the French Culinary Institute. You can follow her on Twitter at @evillagekitchen.