Have you ever heard of a French Silk Pie? It's something I've heard about for ages, but never really looked into until fairly recently. It's basically just a chocolate mousse pie, and it's very rich and creamy, much more so than just chocolate pudding in a pie crust! I recently made one for the first time and thought "why have I waited all this time???" It's really one of the most rich and decadent chocolate somethings I've made in quite a long time. And it's a bit more sophisticated than chocolate pudding. Absolutely delish!
Now, I have to say, there are a couple things worth noting. From what I've read, a TRUE French Silk Pie has eggs in it, but the pie itself is not cooked. I know, I know, everyone always says you shouldn't eat raw eggs, right? Well, honestly, I kind of don't worry about that. I've seen Anne Burrell taste her raw scrambled eggs to make sure they're seasoned enough, and I've also heard Sara Moulton say that she doesn't really worry about it either. But if that worries you, all you have to do is use pasteurized eggs. Problem solved!
And the next thing about this pie is the texture. It's SO rich and creamy and sets up into the perfect slice of pie! The tricky thing is all about the sugar. You should use really superfine sugar for this pie, because the sugar needs to dissolve as you whip the filling. Regular granulated sugar may not dissolve completely, and your pie might not be completely silky smooth.
And finally, I know I always choose recipes that don't take a lot of time, but this one takes a little extra. I mean, it's still super easy to do.. (easy as pie, quite frankly!) but the extra time is completely worth it! Have I ever lied to you before???? And besides, you can use the extra whipping time to multitask! I used it to empty/reload the dishwasher, but you do you!
Anyway, if chocolate is your thing, you simply MUST try this recipe. I found it on a blog called Averiecooks.com, and it's definitely a keeper!
Ingredients:
Crust:
20 Oreo cookies, finely crushed (I use chocolate-filled Oreos rather than white-filled, and regular rather than Double-Stuffed)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
6 ounces dark chocolate, at least 72%, melted (unsweetened baker’s chocolate may be substituted)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups ultrafine sugar, also called ultrafine or baker’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso granules
pinch salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature (or pasteurized eggs, if you prefer)
Topping:
8 ounces whipped topping (thawed and stirred well, lite okay) or 2 cups freshly whipped cream
3 to 4 ounces dark chocolate (72% or higher) roughly chopped, for sprinkling
Method:
Crust –
Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 9-inch pie dish wish cooking spray; set aside. Add Oreos to the canister of a food processor and process until finely ground, 1 to 2 minutes on high power; set aside. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power. Add melted butter to canister of food processor and process until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Turn crumbs out into prepared pie dish and using your fingers, hard-pack the mixture to create a crust, making sure to cover sides of pie dish. Bake for 10 minutes, or until just set. Place on a wire rack to cool.
Filling –
In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate, about 1 to 2 minutes on high power. Stop after 1 minute to check and stir. Heat in 15 second increments until chocolate can be stirred smooth; set aside to cool.
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, sugar, and beat on high power until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping as necessary to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mixture should be very pale, almost white; the lighter and fluffier the better to ensure sugar is well on it’s way to being dissolved and incorporated fully. Add the vanilla, espresso granules, salt, cooled chocolate, and beat on high power until incorporated and mixture is fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, remove paddle attachment, switch to whisk attachment, add 1 egg, and beat for 5 minutes on high power. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the second egg, beat for 5 minutes on high power. Repeat process with remaining eggs. Eggs are added 1 at a time, spaced 5 minutes apart, for a total of 20 minutes active whipping time. After 20 minutes, make sure your mixture is smooth, silky, fluffy, with zero traces of graininess. Continue beating until you’re satisfied with the smoothness because this is what your pie will taste like. Turn mixture out into crust, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 4 hours (overnight is better) for pie to set up fully.
Topping –
Add the whipped topping/cream, smoothing it lightly with a spatula. I left a bare margin of 1-inch for visual appeal so you can see the chocolate; cover surface fully if preferred. Sprinkle evenly with chopped chocolate before slicing and serving. Pie will keep covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Tips:
I think the next time I make this (which will be VERY SOON), I'll probably try it with just a regular pie crust. Since we're going to all this trouble to make sure it's smooth and silky, I was kind of thinking that a crumb crust was working against me. Just a thought!
Also, I know the recipe says to let it chill for at least four hours or overnight, but mine set up beautifully after just three. Just sayin'! Also, I opted for a few sprinkled milk chocolate chips instead of chopped chocolate. It's just easier!
20 Oreo cookies, finely crushed (I use chocolate-filled Oreos rather than white-filled, and regular rather than Double-Stuffed)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
6 ounces dark chocolate, at least 72%, melted (unsweetened baker’s chocolate may be substituted)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups ultrafine sugar, also called ultrafine or baker’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso granules
pinch salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature (or pasteurized eggs, if you prefer)
Topping:
8 ounces whipped topping (thawed and stirred well, lite okay) or 2 cups freshly whipped cream
3 to 4 ounces dark chocolate (72% or higher) roughly chopped, for sprinkling
Method:
Crust –
Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 9-inch pie dish wish cooking spray; set aside. Add Oreos to the canister of a food processor and process until finely ground, 1 to 2 minutes on high power; set aside. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power. Add melted butter to canister of food processor and process until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Turn crumbs out into prepared pie dish and using your fingers, hard-pack the mixture to create a crust, making sure to cover sides of pie dish. Bake for 10 minutes, or until just set. Place on a wire rack to cool.
Filling –
In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate, about 1 to 2 minutes on high power. Stop after 1 minute to check and stir. Heat in 15 second increments until chocolate can be stirred smooth; set aside to cool.
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, sugar, and beat on high power until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping as necessary to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mixture should be very pale, almost white; the lighter and fluffier the better to ensure sugar is well on it’s way to being dissolved and incorporated fully. Add the vanilla, espresso granules, salt, cooled chocolate, and beat on high power until incorporated and mixture is fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, remove paddle attachment, switch to whisk attachment, add 1 egg, and beat for 5 minutes on high power. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the second egg, beat for 5 minutes on high power. Repeat process with remaining eggs. Eggs are added 1 at a time, spaced 5 minutes apart, for a total of 20 minutes active whipping time. After 20 minutes, make sure your mixture is smooth, silky, fluffy, with zero traces of graininess. Continue beating until you’re satisfied with the smoothness because this is what your pie will taste like. Turn mixture out into crust, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 4 hours (overnight is better) for pie to set up fully.
Topping –
Add the whipped topping/cream, smoothing it lightly with a spatula. I left a bare margin of 1-inch for visual appeal so you can see the chocolate; cover surface fully if preferred. Sprinkle evenly with chopped chocolate before slicing and serving. Pie will keep covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Tips:
I think the next time I make this (which will be VERY SOON), I'll probably try it with just a regular pie crust. Since we're going to all this trouble to make sure it's smooth and silky, I was kind of thinking that a crumb crust was working against me. Just a thought!
Also, I know the recipe says to let it chill for at least four hours or overnight, but mine set up beautifully after just three. Just sayin'! Also, I opted for a few sprinkled milk chocolate chips instead of chopped chocolate. It's just easier!
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