French Silk Chocolate Pie

Lalon Approved!

Our friend Dimitris had emailed this pie recipe to me and since he was here visiting this weekend, seemed like the perfect time to try it out.  Needless to say, it did not disappoint!!  I had everything on hand that was needed except hazelnuts... I had pecans and macadamia nuts and we decided to live a little and try it with macadamia nuts - good decision!  It was so creamy and delicious, all the guys had 2 pieces at one sitting!!  It was like a delicious piece of chocolate on top of a sugar cookie.  Best of all, it took no time to piece together, a great easy thing to make - just need to allow time for it to set.

French Silk Chocolate Pie with Hazelnut Crust, from Eat, Live, Run

makes 1 pie to serve 8 people

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