#69 French Silk Pie

When I was in high school, I had to do a fundraiser for a trip I was going on. Among the items to buy were pies. I bought myself a French Silk Pie and ate the whole thing myself. Not in one sitting of course! Truth is, I love chocolate pie. Pie would never be my go-to dessert of choice, but I like it alright. Blueberry and pumpkin are some favorites...but if you add chocolate to a buttery flaky pastry crust...that would come out on top as my very favorite pie!!!

French Silk Pie
Recipe from another favorite ,The Pioneer Women:)

4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup salted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 whole eggs, organic and as fresh as possible
Single pastry crust, baked- you can find my recipe here. You will only need half of that pie crust recipe.
Real whipped cream (in a can or homemade)
Chocolate curls

In a microwave safe bowl melt the 4 oz. of chocolate until stirrable (about 45 sec). Set aside to cool. Make sure it is truly cool but still stirrable before proceeding, or it will ruin the recipe.

Meanwhile line pie plate with rolled out pastry crust. Trim edges and flute then dock crust bottom and sides generously with a fork. Place crust in the refrigerator to firm up for 30 minutes.



Next line chilled crust with parchment, then foil and add pie weights. I used navy beans.

Bake in a 450 degree pre-heated oven for 8 minutes. Remove parchment, foil and weights and bake for an additional 5-6 minutes or until golden. Set on wire rack to cool completely.

Oh...and if you have any extra pastry...make sure to make cinnamon sugar pie cookies....yummy. Reminds me of Grandma's house:)

Next in a bowl of an electric mixer using the beater attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Be sure to scrap sides of bowl. Then drizzle cooled chocolate into the fluffy butter sugar as it beats.

Scrap all the chocolate from sides of bowl before moving on. Then add the vanilla and give it a whirl to combine.

Next comes the eggs. I used organic cage-free eggs for this recipe because they will not be cooked. Yes, this recipe uses raw eggs, so I wanted to be as safe as possible. I do have hens of my own, but with the shorter days and their age, I don't get many eggs this time of year. I have never attempted to use pasteurized egg product because I didn't know for sure it would turn out right, so I'm taking a chance on the raw eggs. I did taste test some of the chocolate mousse yesterday while I was making this and I'm feeling good today, so I know my pie is good to share for Thanksgiving today.

So next turn your mixer to medium speed and over a period of 15-20 minutes add in four eggs one at a time, leaving about 5 minutes between each egg addition. Stop the mixer and scrap down sides before the third eggs. What you are making is a smooth velvety chocolate mousse.

Once the pie filling is mixed, pour it into the baked pastry shell. Smooth out the filling and place in refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours. I chilled mine overnight.

After it is chilled, finish it by adding real whipped cream to the top. I used canned whipped cream so I could get the pretty star pattern.

Finally, curl some chocolate and add you the top as a pretty garnish.

Doesn't that look yummy. Can't wait to try a small slice of this today! Hmmmm, so much yummy food! No wonder people gain weight over the holidays. Enjoy:)