Grasshopper Pie

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Grasshopper Pie; chocolate shortcrust filled with mint marshmallow mousse and generously swirled with vanilla cream.

The combination of fresh light flavours with rich heavy flavours never gets old.

Think of the soft sheet of sweet fondant icing that envelopes a dark, damp fruit cake. Perhaps the small scoop of melting vanilla ice cream that trickles down the sides of a warm chocolate brownie. Maybe even the pillow of fluffy meringue piled on top of a sharp lemon tart.

Our palates crave these delicious contrasts. Sometimes in texture, sometimes in temperature, but most often in taste.

One of my favourite examples of a glorious clash of flavours is that of mint chocolate chip ice cream. It’s as satisfyingly rich as it is refreshingly light. A scoop of that pastel-green stuff, flecked with bittersweet chocolatey bits, is heavenly when it’s warm outside. That being said, it’s not a flavour I think to keep in my freezer. It’s rarely found amongst the ever-present almond Magnums, peanut butter Ben & Jerry’s, or frozen raspberries. It’s hard to say if this absence is due to the fact I appreciate the rare novelty, or that I’d smash the whole tub in a single sitting like a starved Labrador.

However, we may have just stumbled upon an old-school recipe that provides the same irresistible combination, without the temptation to devour it alone (well, I can’t make any promises on that last part). The old school recipe in question, is that of the Grasshopper Pie.

Love mint chocolate? Try out this classic Mint Aero Cheesecake recipe!

The Grasshopper Pie is supposedly named after a vivid green cocktail with similar flavours invented in the state of Louisiana back in 1918. Though a bit of a retro dessert now, it perfectly pairs mouth-tingling peppermint with dark chocolate.

Typically, you’ll see Grasshopper Pie made with an Oreo biscuit base, blitzed and blended with butter. You’d then have a marshmallow-based filling with glowing green food colouring added to convey the mint flavour.

In this Maverick Baking recipe for Grasshopper Pie, we’ve taken things up a notch. A melt-in-the-mouth chocolate shortcrust pastry, with a subtle cocoa bitterness for balance. Impossibly light marshmallow mousse, folded with whipped cream, matcha powder, and peppermint extract. A cloud of fluffy vanilla cream, begging for a spoon to submerged in it.

I first came across a recipe like this in the Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days book from 2011. It has sat on my cookbook shelf for years, even after a few house moves, and even more book clear-outs. The book was my first introduction to red velvet cake, when it was the height of UK baking fashion almost 10 years ago now. It has also been a means of inspiration and recreation for various other bakes over the last decade.

The mint marshmallow mousse in today’s recipe follows a similar method to that in the Hummingbird recipe. You’ll find it lighter, mintier, and less fluorescent in colour. I used a dash of matcha powder to colour the mousse, as I admire its natural pastel shade, and its flavour. If you don’t have any matcha, feel free to use just a tiny drop of green food colouring instead (the paste kind is best). The paler the green, the more your pie will look enticing rather than something from a kids’ birthday party. Unless that’s the vibrant look you’re after, of course.

In another resourceful twist, the recipe for the chocolate pastry crust in this recipe should leave you enough pastry leftover to stamp out some shapes. I chose heart shapes, as I took these pictures over Valentine’s Day weekend, but little stars or even varying little circles could be a could finishing touch. Oh, and don’t forget the chocolate shavings. Bonus points if it’s a mint chocolate bar too.

You won’t need to splurge much on the ingredients for this Grasshopper Pie. Most of them will be found in your fridge or cupboard already. The marshmallows can be the most basic version you can find, though obviously white marshmallows will provide better colour than the pink ones! As ever, I’d thoroughly recommend grabbing your cocoa powder (or any other cooking chocolate) from Cocoa Runners. You can use code MaverickBaking10 for 10% off!

You’ll need a fluted tart tin, and perhaps an electric whisk for your cream if you don’t fancy a bicep workout. Otherwise, you can be as creative as you like with your equipment!

I hope you enjoy this Grasshopper Pie as much as we have, and thanks as always for stopping by.

Want to save this Grasshopper Pie for later? You can pin the image below:

To make this Grasshopper Pie, simply follow the recipe below:

BE A MAVERICK: why not dust some cocoa powder into the mousse before folding in the cream for a deeper chocolate flavour?

This Grasshopper Pie will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days, but is best eaten fresh!