Richly chocolate, smooth without being gloppy. This French Silk Pie slumped ever-so-slightly in that perfectly decadent way. As if it was so full of goodness that it couldn’t contain itself.
French Silk Pie
Richly chocolate, smooth without being gloppy. This French Silk Pie slumped ever-so-slightly in that perfectly decadent way. As if it was so full of goodness that it couldn’t contain itself.
Ingredients
For crust:
- 1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup sugar
For filling:
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3 cups whole milk
- 5 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For topping:
- 3/4 cup chilled heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, for dusting OR a small chunk of dark chocolate, shaved with a grater or rasp
Instructions
Crust:
- Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
- Stir together crumbs, butter and sugar and press into 9″ pie plate or tart tin. Bake until slightly golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool on a rack.
Filling:
- In a heavy-bottomed pot, whisk yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt until well combined. Add milk in a stream, while still whisking. Over medium heat, while still whisking, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, still whisking, for about a minute. The filling will be quite thick.
- Sieve the filling into a large bowl. Whisk in chocolates, butter and vanilla and stir until everything is melted together and fully incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it against the custard mixture to keep it from forming a skin. Let cool completely, about two hours.
- Spoon filling into cooled crust and then chill all together in the fridge for at least six hours. (Mine took more like eight.)
- When ready to serve, beat whipping cream with sugar until it hold soft peaks. Cover pie and dust with cocoa powder or chocolate shavings.
Recipe and Photo: Gwendolyn Richards
