Rich Chocolate Cream Pie

April 21, 2018

Rich Chocolate Cream Pie

Mmmmmmm...pie. Katrina's favorite food is probably cake, but mine is definitely pie. I'm pretty sure I could eat nothing but pie ever again and be perfectly content. It's school vacation week here, and one of our kids specifically requested that the Fat Friday project be French Silk Pie. Well, turns out that uses uncooked eggs, which gives us both the heebie-jeebies. So, instead, we made super-rich chocolate cream pie from scratch and just told the kids it was French Silk Pie. Shhhhhhh.....

I also need to take a moment to introduce our newest Fat Friday member - this is Zoey! She's just 8 weeks old and already has a proper appreciation for donuts. We haven't made her an official member shirt yet, but just give us time.

Now, on to the recipe...

Ultra-rich Chocolate Cream Pie

Servings: 8
Time: 4 hours (mostly chilling time)

Ingredients:
Pie Crust:

1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup butter, cut into small cubes and frozen
5 Tbsp ice water
additional flour for dusting and rolling

Filling:

2 1/2 cups half and half
pinch salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
6 egg yolks, at room temperature
6 Tbsp cold butter, cut into tablespoons
1 tsp vanilla
3.5 oz dark chocolate, chopped (we used 60%)
3.5 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Whipped Cream:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Chocolate bar for chocolate shavings (optional)

Instructions:

To make pie crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Use food processor to mix flour, salt and sugar. Add in frozen butter and process in ten one-second pulses until mixture resembles coarse sand.
Dump mixture into large mixing bowl and, using pastry cutter, add water 1 tablespoon at a time until dough will form a ball.
Flatten dough into a disc shape and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about half an hour.
Roll dough out into a roughly 12" circle.
Roll the dough around your rolling pin and unroll across your pie pan. Carefully press dough down to fit into pan. Trim excess dough around the edge of the pan and tuck the edge of the dough under itself to form a border.
Line your pie dough with aluminum foil and pie weights (we use pennies - we already have some on hand and they transfer heat well. No need to buy fancy pie weights! You can also used dried beans).
Bake for 25 minutes, then remove pie weights and foil and bake for an additional 8 minutes, or until crust is just starting to turn golden. Remove and set aside to cool.

To make filling:

Meanwhile, bring half-and-half, salt, and 3 tablespoons of sugar to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
Stir together remaining sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl.
Whisk egg yolks in medium bowl for about 30 seconds.
Sprinkle cornstarch mixture over eggs and whisk for about 1 minute.
When half-and-half reaches a simmer, pour about 1/2 cup of the hot half-and-half into the eggs and whisk. Then slowly add the egg mixture to the remainder of the half-and-half (don't try to skip the first half of this step - it's important to heat the eggs slowly so you don't end up with scrambled eggs).
Return to a simmer, whisking constantly, until bubbles just begin to burst on the surface. The mixture should be thick and glossy.
Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla.
Whisk in chocolate until melted.
Pour into baked pie crust and immediately place plastic wrap on top of filling to prevent a skin forming.
Chill for 3 hours.

Whipped cream:

Whip cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
Spread whipped cream on top of pie. Garnish with chocolate shavings if desired (these are very easy to make with a Hershey bar and a vegetable peeler - just run the peeler along the edge of the chocolate bar over the top of your pie - instant chocolate shavings!)

Not only do I love eating pie, but I love making pie crust. Not most bakers' favorite thing, I know, but once you've gotten the hang of it it's actually a fun process, and what's tastier than pie crust?! If you don't like it, it's only because you've never had good pie crust. Trust me.

Mix your flour, salt and sugar

Get your ice water ready

Use your food processor to cut in the frozen butter (you only need to freeze it for about 15 minutes)

Your mixture should look like this when the butter is sufficiently processed

Dough ball ready to be flattened and chilled

I see pictures online where people have rolled their dough into perfect circles - I am not one of those people. Don't overwork the dough, that's more important for flaky, delicious pastry.