Keith Floyd was the wine-swilling, wise-cracking, outdoor-cooking pioneer of an entire lineage of cooks that we now know as TV celebrity chefs.
With a flamboyant style and acerbic manner, Floyd was as famous for his bow tie as he was for a glass of red wine in his hand for regular glugs while cooking.
He was a spontaneous, devil-may-care and amusingly irreverent chef, which of course was part the charm that made him so popular. In some of his television episodes, he seemed to have had one too many of those glasses of red, but he never stopped surprising his audience with his fearless adventures and delicious recipes he portrayed on his travels around the world.
Keith was not just one of the best, he was the best television chef.
Jamie Oliver
One of Floyd’s most famous desserts was his Mississippi Mud Pie, a recipe that’s hard to find online these days. We still have and old newspaper cutting of the recipe and have made it again and again, always raising a glass to Keith whenever we do.
Mississippi Mud Pie is a soft, smooth and silky chocolate dessert, almost like a chocolate mousse cake but lighter and with more texture, thanks to its biscuit base and marshmallow topping.
In case you’re wondering, it’s called a “Mississippi Mud” Pie because of the hues and layers of brown chocolate that are reminiscent of Mississippi River mud.
It’s one of the easiest and most delicious cakes to make. Thanks for sharing it with us, Floyd!
Keith Floyd’s Mississippi Mud Pie
Ingredients
- 400 g plain dark chocolate coarsely grated
- 300 g marshmallows the small ones melt quicker
- 200 g digestive biscuits
- 100 g unsalted butter melted
- 3 tbsp milk
- 4 tsp instant coffee granules
- 500 ml thick cream
- 2 tbsp boiling water
- 2 tbsp soft light brown sugar
Instructions
For the Biscuit Base
- Place biscuits in a plastic bag and crush into fine crumbs with a rolling pin
- Melt butter in a small pan, cool but do not allow to set
- Grate 100g of the chocolate
- Add the melted butter into the biscuit mix and quickly stir in 100g of the grated chocolate
- Grease and line the base and sides of a 22cm springform cake pan
- Press the biscuit mixture over the base and up the sides of the pan and smooth the base with the back of a spoon
- Place in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes
For the Chocolate layer
- Put 200g of the marshmallows into a non-stick pan with the milk, heat gently over a medium to low heat, stirring constantly
- Alternatively, melt the marshmallows in the microwave at 100 percent power for two minutes
- Put aside to cool
- Break up the remaining chocolate and put in a bowl over hot water until melted
- Stir this into the marshmallow mixture
- Set aside
For the Coffee layer
- Dissolve the coffee granules in 2 tbsp boiling water and place into a small non-stick pan together with the remaining marshmallows
- Heat gently and stir constantly until melted
- Set aside to cool
Putting the Pie together
- Whip cream until it just holds its shape
- Stir in sugar
- Lightly whisk three quarters of cream and the cooled chocolate marshmallow mixture together until evenly coloured
- Clean the beaters and lightly whisk the remaining cream and coffee marshmallow mixture together until the colour is even
- Chill both chocolate and coffee cream mixes for 15 minutes
- Spoon chocolate mixture into biscuit base spread out to the edges and smooth the top
- Spoon coffee mixture on top of the chocolate mix and, using a small palette knife swirl the surface
- Chill in the fridge for 4 hours
- Carefully unclip the side of the baking pan and, transfer to a serving plate
Notes
The beauty and performance of Emile Henry's iconic pie dish elevates pie baking from plain ordinary to ceramic art, as it insulates and evenly distributes heat during baking.
The result is a feast for both the eyes and the palate.
