Cooking at Home with Jason: Easy as Silk Pie
July 19, 2010 by From The Editors
Filed under Cooking At Home WIth Jason
By Jason Brechin
Growing up, we had some excellent desserts at all the family gatherings. One of my favorites growing up was only made once a year, a pristine, fluffy white coconut-laden pie that we dubbed “Christmas Pie.” We would drizzle some warmed up seedless raspberry jam on top. Sadly, my mother hasn’t given me the recipe for that one yet.
Some of us preferred pie, others chose cake. Whether it was homemade crust and filling, or from a box or freezer case, we didn’t care. The most important thing was sharing the various desserts that were made and sharing lively conversation around my grandmother’s dining table.
When I was younger, restaurant meals rarely ended with dessert. Sometimes, though, I remember being at Baker’s Square, especially as a teenager. Their wide assortment of pies, creams, meringues, and fruit-filled creations, often tempted me. One that I remember having at Baker’s Square, but nowhere else, was French Silk pie.
Despite its name, French Silk pie is all American. Created in 1951 for the third annual Pillsbury Bake-Off, its name really just strives to evoke a feeling that you’re eating something fancy. Yes, the texture is smooth-as-silk, but the ingredient list for most chocolate French Silk pies offers a new definition for unhealthy.
I’m no health-food junkie calling for the banishment of all fat in desserts — dessert is the time to indulge, though perhaps with some discretion. However, most French Silk recipes I’ve read call for multiple sticks of butter to be combined with large amounts of sugar and raw eggs. While I don’t personally take issue with recipes like this, I feel it’s just not necessary. You lose the chocolate, and it becomes a super-rich expression of whipped topping.
I wanted to re-think French Silk, using great ingredients and not using anything unnecessary that would overtake what we really want: chocolate. Instead of the deep dish pie filled with the beaten mousse-like traditional French Silk filling, I opted for a tart, filled with a more dense, gelatin-set filling. I now have committed to memory the simple 3-2-1 ratio pie crust (described fully by Michael Ruhlman), but you could use your favorite pie crust recipe or even a good store-bought crust.
Easy as Silk Pie
makes 1 9-inch tart
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups half-and-half or heavy cream if you like
- 1 packet of unflavored gelatin
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 ounces Flatlander chocolate, any variety, or your favorite high-quality chocolate
- 1 9-inch tart shell, fully baked and cooled
- whipped cream, for topping (lightly sweetened is best)
- chocolate shavings (optional, but highly recommended)
Directions
1. Pour the half-and-half into a small saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface. Allow the gelatin to hydrate, or bloom, undisturbed for 5 minutes.
2. Add the sugar and turn the heat on medium-low, stirring, until it’s all dissolved.
3. Break or chop the chocolate into small pieces and add to the mixture.
4. Turn the heat down to low and continue stirring until the chocolate has been fully incorporated.
5. Pour the filling into the prepared tart shell and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours.
6. Top generously with the whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
You end up with a tart that has a pure, though delicate, taste of chocolate. It’s got a great silky texture like the original, but from a touch of gelatin, not 2 sticks of butter and a couple eggs beaten in. It’s sweet, but not childishly so. With shortcuts like pre-made pie crust and store-bought whipped cream, this is a very easy, yet impressive dessert to serve to any guests you may have.
Jason Brechin lives in Savoy with his wife, two daughters, and a lazy cat. Whether you’re looking for recipe recommendations to use up that aging produce or just want to know more about some obscure ingredient, he’ll have something to offer. When he isn’t contributing to Chambanamoms, he’s maintaining his own food blog, Clever Food Blog. Originally from the suburbs, he and his wife met here their first year of college and have loved living here ever since.
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