French Silk Pie

I was wanting to make this delicious pie for a couple months and what better reason than pie day? I made this wonderfully scrumptious pie for my math class and it was devoured in the blink of an eye. This was also the first time I made my own pie crust and, although I though I did, I did not have a pastry cutter at the time so instead I followed my wise cooking teachers instructions and used to knives to literally "cut-in" the fat into the flour mixture. Also, while mixing the chocolaty goodness the recipe tells to mix until it reaches mousse texture, well I didn't exactly know what mousse texture was so when I reached it I didn't know and thought it was supposed to be thicker and the recipe said I could mix for up to five minutes so I did and big mistake! it turned by chocolate mixture soupy. However, it still turned out delicious, the chocolate thickened into a sort of pudding that was very tasty. But a word to the wise, don't mix too long when the chocolate doesn't run off of the beater it's done!

PIE CRUST:

Ingredients:

-1 c. flour
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1/3 c. shortening (or butter)
-3-5 tbs. cold water

Directions:

Combine salt with flour. Use pastry blender to incorporate fat into flour. The fat should be broken down into pea-sized balls or larger. Do not mix it in too much or you will not end up with a flaky crust. Add cold water one tablespoon at a time and fluff into flour with a fork. Form dough into a ball, flatten slightly, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.

      Preheat oven to 425 F. Lightly flour rolling pin and rolling surface. Roll dough out lightly in all directions and place in pie pan. Since there will be no filling at this point, puncture the bottom and sides of the dough to prevent air pockets from forming between the pie pan and dough. Bake for 10 minutes until golden brown. The high temperature will cause the butter to melt and turn the water into steam, creating a nice flaky crust. Remove from oven and cool while you make the filling.
 

FILLING:

Ingredients:

-1 c. butter (typically 2 sticks)
-1-1/2 c. sugar
-2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled (Bakers Square)
-2 tsp. vanilla extract
-4 eggs

Directions:

Prepare the pie filling by first beating sugar and melted butter until thoroughly combined and no longer grainy. Mix in melted chocolate and extracts.
Add eggs two at a time, beating for about 3-5 minutes after each addition until the filling has a rich mousse texture.
Pour filling into cooled pie crust.

WHIPPED CREAM:


Ingredients:


-1 pint heavy whipping cream
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/4 tsp almond extract

Directions:


 Prepare whipped cream topping by beating heavy cream until soft peaks form then mix in remaining ingredients and beat until stiff peaks form. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe pretty decorations over the top of the pie (if lazy you can just spread the whipped cream over the pie; either way it tastes the same). Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours until set. Cut into slices and enjoy!!