French Silk Chocolate Pie with Hazelnut Crust

I really just want to high five my great grandma right now.

This pie! Oh, this pie…..!

If you’ve never made and/or tried French silk pie, please do so this weekend. You’ll be a much happier person as a result, I promise.

This pie is the cure for many things including PMS, homesickness, lovesickness, any sort of sickness…..It has the texture of silky dark chocolate mousse and is piled into a mildly sweet, crunchy hazelnut crust. You know, for that nutella fix.

The pie recipe? That’s great grandma’s. The crust? That’s mine.

I love nutty crusts like this and think it pairs perfectly with the smooth chocolate filling, but if you have a favorite crust recipe, feel free to use it here!

The crust comes together quickly, with just a blast in the food processor (or blender) and a quick bake in the oven.

If hazelnuts aren’t you thing, try walnuts or pecans instead. You could also go the graham cracker crust route!

Guess what? The filling for this pie only has four ingredients! How awesome is that? You do use raw eggs in this, though, so please be sure to make sure they’re as fresh as possible.

I’ve started getting my eggs from my hair stylist/next door neighbor who gets them delivered weekly from her friend’s farm in Petaluma. I couldn’t believe what a difference there was between farm fresh eggs and eggs from the grocery store. The yolks are so bright yellow that they’re almost orange, and they take eggs benedict to a whole new level.

To start, cream your butter and sugar together until fluffy, then melt the chocolate over a double boiler (or just a pot of water with another small pot on top!). Drizzle the melted chocolate in the mixing bowl…

Add the vanilla and the eggs and then just BEAT THE HECK OUT OF IT!

Seriously.

Keep.on.beating!

Beat. Beat. Beat….till it’s so fluffy you can’t help but stick your hand finger in to taste. Pour this sweet bowl of love right into your cooled crust and set in the fridge for the afternoon to firm up.

To make it all purdy, decorate your pie with little shavings of chocolate (use a vegetable peeler on a chocolate bar!), cocoa and more chopped hazelnuts.

Who can resist this?

There’s only one thing left to do, my lovelies, and that is to DIG IN.

French Silk Chocolate Pie with Hazelnut Crust

makes 1 pie to serve 8 people

Print this recipe!

Ingredients:

for crust—

1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped

6 tbsp butter, melted

1/4 tsp salt

for pie—

2 oz unsweetened chocolate

1 stick butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a high speed blender or food processor, process the flour, sugar, hazelnuts and salt together until all are well combined and there are no clumps. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the melted butter until incorporated. Press mixture into a greased 9″ pie dish and bake for about 13 minutes until golden brown.

Remove crust from the oven and let cool completely.

Now make the filling! It’s important to use fresh eggs here because they are uncooked, so check the date and if possible, get organic and/or farm fresh (check your local farmer’s market or Whole Foods!).

Bring a small pot of water to a simmer on the stove. Place chocolate in another small(er) pot and place that pot on top of the simmering water to create a double boiler. Melt chocolate over simmering water (keep heat on low) and then remove and let chocolate cool to room temperature.

Cream butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and cooled melted chocolate and continue to beat until smooth. Now add the eggs, beating well after each addition. After the second egg, beat on HIGH for about 8-10 minutes until light and fluffy.

Pour filling into your cooled pie crust and place in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight to set.

Cover pie with whipped cream and decorate with cocoa, chocolate shavings and chopped hazelnuts.

Time:

1 hour active time—4 hours including time to set

 

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Tagged as: baking, chocolate, pies, Recipe Box Challenge