French Silk Pie

It's apparently Pie Week around the internets. It's this week that everyone in finalizing their thanksgiving menus and dessert is the most important part. At least it's most important in my opinion! It's how you finish off the night and what puts that final nail in the coffin of your food coma.

 Personally I love making pies at thanksgiving because it reminds me of my gram. When I was little, we always went over to grams house for thanksgiving dinner.  We would walk in the door and the entire house would smell amazing. She had a turkey baking in the kitchen and lamb baking in the basement. Yes, she had a second oven in the basement. I'm not sure exactly how safe the whole situation was, but everyone got something they wanted for dinner.

As gram got older, we moved thanksgiving dinner to my aunts house. The aunts and uncles took over the majority of cooking but my gram still made all the desserts. Cherry pie, pumpkin pie and apple pie all made appearances after dinner. Gram was the dessert queen and made a fierce pie crust. Years later I discovered grams secret. Canned pie filling! My dad was so disillusioned. Gram was a definite housewife of the 1950's, she didn't meet a canned good she didn't like. But seriously, her pies were still awesome.

I did not inherit her pie dough making gene. I'm a huge fan of the cookie crust. Or the those rolled up pie crusts from the grocery store. Don't judge, they're yummy. For our early thanksgiving dinner this week, I prepared a chocolate chocolate chocolate French silk pie. It's rich. It's creamy. It's got to get out of my house before I eat the entire thing!

If you're looking for a little something different at your dessert table this year, whip up this pie. It's sure easy.

Two Years Ago: Sausage & Gorgonzola Mac'n'Cheese
Three Years Ago: Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

French Silk Pie

A Wilde Original

Chocolate Crust

From Momofuku Milk

For the Crumb

2/3 all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 300 ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat. Combine solid ingredients with a whisk. Add butter and stir until everything is moistened and you form small crumbs.

Spread mixture on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, stir around. Bake for another 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely before making cookie crust.

For the crust

3/4 crumb recipe (260 g, 1 3/4 cup)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Pulse chocolate crumbs in the food processor until finely ground, sandy. Transfer to a bowl and add remaining ingredients. Knead with your hands until everything can be put together into a ball.

Press dough into a pie pan, using your fingers and palms to flatten the pie crust and push up onto the sides of the pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to harden.

French Silk Pie

Adapted from The Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook

1 cup whipping cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 beaten egg yolks
3 tablespoons whipping cream

Combine whipping cream, chocolate chips, butter and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until chocolate is melted. In a small bowl, beat egg yolks lightly. Slowly pour half of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks, beating the entire time.  Pour egg mixture back into the saucepan and stir. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture begins to bubble and thickens slightly.

Add remaining 3 tablespoons whipping cream and stir to combine. Place saucepan in a bowl of ice water. Let cool for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Transfer chocolate mixture to a large bowl and whip on high speed for for 4-5 minutes, or until lightened in color and slightly fluffy.  Pour into prepared chocolate crust and place in the fridge to chill.

Stabilized Whipped Cream

from several sources

1/2 teaspoon powdered gelatin
1 tablespoon water
1 cup cold whipping cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Pour water over gelatin and allow to bloom for 2 minutes.  Microwave, 5 seconds at a time, until gelatin is liquefied.

Beat whipping cream on high speed until frothy. Add granulated sugar and continue beating on high for another minute. Add gelatin and whip on high until you achieve stiff peaks.  Transfer to a piping bag with a large star tip, pipe big loopy designs on your pie.