Cocoa and cacao are basically the same thing. The word “cacao” is the original name for what the English-speaking people call cocoa. So why the difference? Simply because it is a spelling mistake from many years ago that no one has ever bothered to fix. Regardless of what you call it, this pie is about as intense in cacao flavor as you can possibly get.

Intense Cacao Cream Pie

35 chocolate wafer cookies

5 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted and cooled slightly

4 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups milk

1 cup sugar

2 bars (3-ounce) 86 percent Ghirardelli Cacao Bars, broken

2 tablespoon butter or margarine

Put the cookies in the bowl of a food processor or blender, and pulse until crumbs are formed. This can also be accomplished by using a large, resealable plastic bag as well. Use a rolling pin, and smash them into crumbs while sealed with the air squeezed out.

Add the melted butter and continue pulsing until all crumbs have been moistened. Or mix the butter by hand in a large bowl if you used the bag method. Pour the moistened crumbs into a 9-inch pie pan, and press them against the bottom and sides evenly. Set this in refrigerator while continuing with the recipe.

In a bowl, mix together cornstarch and cocoa powder. Whisk in 1/3 cup of milk until smooth.

In a medium-sized saucepan, add remainder of milk, sugar and cacao bars. Over medium heat, cook and stir with a whisk until the chocolate has melted. Remove pan from heat and whisk half a cup into the cold milk mixture. Add this milk mixture into the saucepan and return to heat. Cook over medium-high heat while constantly stirring until it begins to scald and slightly bubble and thicken. Stir in the butter until melted.

Pour into prepared pie shell and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Add film wrap onto the surface of pie and continue cooling an additional 3-4 hours, until completely cooled.

— Chef Jim Bailey is The Yankee Chef and an authority on New England food and its history. He is a respected food columnist from Maine and is married with four children. You can email questions or comments to [email protected] and visit theyankeechef.blogspot.com.