French Silk Pie

I think French Silk Pie is one of those desserts that, because of its name, seems really fancy and decadent — which it is — but also difficult to make –which it is not. This fudgy, creamy pie is actually not French, but American. It was born in 1951 as a Pillsbury Bake-Off competition runner-up, but because of how smooth, creamy, and rich it is it got the name French Silk.

This is the perfect pie to make for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s or really any celebration. I used Venitian milk chocolate, which you can find at our store. This is my favorite milk chocolate, but you can use your favorite. Feel free to use a semisweet or a dark chocolate too if you’d prefer. After all, this is your pie and we have an amazingly large and high-quality supply of chocolate that is great for not only chocolate and candy-making, but also for all of your baking needs.

French Silk Pie

• Pastry for single crust pie (9-inch)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup milk chocolate (6 ounces by weight)
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 cup whipped cream

Instructions:

1. Place the pie crust in a 9 inch pie pan and crimp the edges. Chill for 30 minutes. Blind bake by lining the crust with aluminum foil. Add pie weights and bake at 375 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and lift the foil with the pie weights out of the crust. Bake for another 7-10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
2. In a medium heavy saucepan combine 1 cup heavy cream, chocolate, butter, and sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat. Add a couple tablespoons of the hot mixture into the egg yolks. Stir and add a little more hot mixture until you have about half of the hot mixture combined with the egg yolks. This tempers the egg yolks to prevent them from cooking into hard bits instead of being smooth and creamy. Return egg mixture to chocolate mixture in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is slightly thickened and begins to bubble. Remove from heat. Stir in the 3 tablespoons of heavy cream.
3. If desired, and to achieve a smoother pie, pour chocolate mixture through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Place the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water, stirring occasionally, until the mixture stiffens and becomes hard to stir (about 20 minutes). Alternately, you can put it in the freezer, stirring occasionally until it stiffens and becomes hard to stir.
4. Beat chocolate mixture with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
5. Spread filling into the baked pie shell.
6. Cover and chill for 5 to 24 hours.
7. Before serving, top with whipped cream and shaved chocolate as a garnish.