French Silk Chocolate Pie
This lovely, dense chocolate pie in an almond-graham cracker crust is served with Amaretto whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Be aware that the egg yolks are not cooked; use certified eggs for the recipe.
Ingredients
- Crust
- Graham Cracker Crumbs - 1-1/2 cups
- Sugar - 1-1/3 cups
- Unsalted Butter - 1/3 cup, melted
- Almonds - 2/3 cup, ground
- Filling
- Bittersweet Chocolate - 12 ounces, chopped
- Unsalted Butter - 8 ounces (1 cup)
- Sugar - 1/2 cup
- Egg Yolks - 6
- Amaretto liqueur - 1 tablespoon
- Amaretto Whipped Topping
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 1 cup
- Sugar - tablespoons sugar
- Almond Extract - 1/2 teaspoon
- Amaretto liqueur - 2 tablespoons
- Chocolate Sauce - 1 cup
- Chocolate lattice - for garnish
- Mint sprigs - 6 or 8
Instructions
To make the crust: Combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a food processor. Blend the crumbs and butter together. Add the almonds and blend them in. Press the mixture over the bottom of the pan and 2 inches up the sides. Chill in the refrigerator.
To make the filling. Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. In a separate bowl, whip the egg yolks until they thicken slightly and form a ribbon when drizzled back upon themselves. Add the chocolate to the butter-sugar mixture and mix again. Fold in the egg yolks and Amaretto. Pour into the chilled crust and smooth the top. Refrigerate 2 hours, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
To make the topping: In the small bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to medium-high and slowly add the sugar. Beat to soft peaks, then beat in the almond extract and Amaretto liqueur.
To serve: Cut the pie into 6 or 8 slices and place one on each chilled serving dish. Put the whipped topping in a pastry bag fitted with a medium fluted tip and pipe a rosette on each slice. Optionally, top the cream with a chocolate garnish. Put the chocolate sauce in a squeeze bottle and drizzle over the plates. Place a mint sprig on each plate.
