Silky Chocolate Pie Recipe

By ezunich

Ingredients

• TOPPING:
• Pastry for single-crust pie (9 inches), see below
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2-1/2 cups half-and-half cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 tbs Cognac or brandy
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tbs Cognac or brandy
• 1 tsp confectioners' sugar
• Baking cocoa

Details

Servings 8
Adapted from tasteofhome.com

Preparation

Step 1

On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Line unpricked pastry with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice.
Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake 10-12 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
In a heavy saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in cream. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove from the heat. In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook and stir over low heat 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat; stir in the chocolate, Cognac and vanilla until chocolate is melted.
Transfer to a clean bowl; press plastic wrap onto surface of filling. Cool filling to room temperature. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate, covered, until cold, about 4 hours.
For topping, in a small bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add Cognac and confectioners' sugar; beat until soft peaks form. Spread over pie. Sprinkle with cocoa. Yield: 8 servings.

PASTRY FOR SINGLE-CRUST PIE (9 INCHES): Combine 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/8 tsp. salt; cut in 1/2 cup cold butter until crumbly. Gradually add 3-4 Tbsp. ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.