Originally Posted by
maviskw
I'm not looking for easy. I'm looking for natural. One thing I know I could use is unflavored gelatin. I think you would have to dissolve a little in cold water, then add hot water to cook it, then cool it before adding to the pie. That sounds like a lot of work, but people who want to go natural are used to that.
I am with you, I do not eat cool whip.
I have used Gelatin to stabilize whipped cream. Rose Levy Beranbaum in the Cake Bible has a couple methods for stabilizing whipped cream. One uses cornstarch, the other gelatin.
If you make light ganache and whip it (Chocolate Whipped Cream), the chocolate stabilizes it too.
My family makes chocolate cream pie, by making chocolate pudding (from scratch), allowing it to set, them folding in whipped cream (not stabilized). Put in a chocolate crust with more whipped cream on top, plus chocolate shavings.
For short cut chocolate pudding add cocoa to Bird's Custard powder, cook as usual, then add a handful of chocolate chips to the finished pudding, stir until the chocolate is melted.