Traditional French Silk Pie Filling Recipes

FRENCH SILK PIE

Steps:

• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Crush the crackers in a food processor or resealable bag. Pour them into a bowl and stir in the melted butter and sugar. Press into a pie pan and bake until golden and set, 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
• For the filling: In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the baking chocolate until stirrable (about 45 seconds on high). Set aside to cool.
• It is important for the bowl and ingredients to be cold for the next stage of making the filling--to get the right texture and result. In a large chilled bowl with an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
• When the melted chocolate is cooled, drizzle it over the butter/sugar mixture. Add the vanilla extract. Beat the mixture thoroughly until combined (on a stand mixer, you will be using the whisk attachment).
• Turn your mixer to a medium speed and over a period of 15 to 20 minutes, add in the 4 cold eggs, one at a time, leaving about 5 minutes between each egg addition. Once the pie filling is well mixed, pour it into the baked pie shell, scraping every last speck of it out of the bowl. Smooth out the pie filling and place the pie in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours (preferably longer).
• For the topping: Add the heavy cream and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip until it is stiff. Cover the pies with a thick layer of cream. Grate the semisweet chocolate over the top.

FRENCH SILK PIE

Steps:

• Cut pie crust in half. Repackage and refrigerate 1 half for another use. On a lightly floured surface, roll out remaining half into an 8-in. circle. Transfer to a 7-in. pie plate; flute edge., Line shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450° for 4 minutes. Remove foil; bake until crust is golden brown, about 2 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack., In a small saucepan, combine sugar and eggs until well blended. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 160° and coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from the heat. Stir in chocolate and vanilla until smooth. Cool to lukewarm (90°), stirring occasionally. , In a small bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add cooled chocolate mixture; beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. , In another large bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar; beat until stiff peaks form. Fold into chocolate mixture. , Pour into crust. Chill for at least 6 hours before serving. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

FRENCH SILK PIE

Steps:

• To make the crust, stir together chocolate crumbs and butter. Press into a 9" pie plate and up the sides. Set aside.
• In a large saucepan, whisk together sugar, eggs, cocoa and 1 cup cream until smooth.
• Place saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened (you will know when it's thick!).
• Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl and stir in chocolate, butter and vanilla until smooth.
• Set aside or refrigerate until cooled to room temperature -- 1-2 hours on the counter or 30-40 minutes in the refrigerator -- stirring occasionally.
• Whip chocolate mixture on high speed until slightly lightened in color -- about 5 minutes.
• Whip remaining 1 cup cream until stiff peaks form, and gently fold into chocolate mixture in two batches.
• Spread into prepared pie crust and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight, until set. Garnish with additional sweetened whipped cream before serving if desired.

FRENCH SILK PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Brush beaten egg over all surfaces of pie crust, including edges. Prick holes into the bottom and sides of the crust using a fork.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Combine sugar and 2 eggs in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir continuously, adjusting heat as needed to make sure mixture does not boil or bubble, until it coats the back of a spoon and an instant-read thermometer reads 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 10 minutes.
• Remove mixture from heat and stir in melted chocolate and vanilla extract; allow to cool to lukewarm temperature, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Beat butter in a separate large bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add chocolate mixture and continue to beat on high speed until thick and creamy, about 5 minutes.
• Beat cold heavy cream in a separate bowl until slightly thick. Add powdered sugar all at once and continue to beat on medium to medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold into chocolate mixture, stirring very gently as to not decrease the volume by stirring too much. Pour into the prepared pie crust and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.

JEAN WEBSTER'S FRENCH SILK PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-inch pie plate; set aside. Grind pecans in a food processor, or chop very finely with a knife. In a medium bowl, combine flour, pecans, sugar, and salt. Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press firmly into prepared pie plate. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Make the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With machine running, gradually add melted chocolate and the vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating at medium speed for five minutes after each addition. Pour filling into cooled pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap, and transfer to the refrigerator to cool for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
• Just before serving, top pie with whipped cream, and decorate with chocolate curls.

FRENCH SILK CHOCOLATE PIE I

Steps:

• Cream butter in a mixing bowl. Gradually beat in the sugar with an electric mixer until light colored and well blended. Stir in the thoroughly cooled chocolate, and vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating 5 minutes on medium speed after each addition. Spoon the chocolate filling into a cooled, baked pie shell.
• Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

TRADITIONAL FRENCH SILK PIE FILLING

Steps:

• Start by melting the unsweetened baking chocolate by microwave or double boiler as you prefer. After chocolate is completely melted, set it aside to begin cooling. In a large bowl beat 1 cup of salted butter and 1-1/2 cups of sugar until the butter is fluffy. Use a hand or stand mixer for bet results. Slowly add the cooled but still liquid chocolate and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract while stirring. Beat the mixture until combined thoroughly and the sugar is beginning to dissolve. You will notice that the "grittiness" of the sugar begins to be reduced. A whisk works well for this step. While mixing and over a period of at least ten minutes, add in the three to four eggs. Use three for a slightly denser filling and four for a slightly fluffier filling. When mixed well, pour the filling into your pie crust and chill for several hours. Chilling cannot be skipped as it allows the filling to fully integrate and the last grittiness from the sugar to disappear. Top with homemade whipped cream and garnish with curls of semi-sweet or dark chocolate.

BASIC FRENCH SILK PIE

Steps:

• Melt chocolate in a double boiler set over simmering water.
• Set aside to cool to thick but still liquid.
• Combine eggs and sugar in a double broiler until hot but not scrambled.
• Remove from heat.
• With a mixer beat the chocolate into the egg mixture, then beat in the cold butter.
• Beat for 15 minutes--yes 15 minutes--you wanted silk.
• Beat in vanilla and booze.
• Scrape the filling into the shell and chill in fridge for at least 3 hours.
• Serve with whipped cream.

FRENCH SILK PIE, COOKED

Steps:

• In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, combine the 1 cup whipping cream, chocolate pieces, butter and sugar.
• Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, till chocolate is melted.
• About 10 minutes.
• Remove pan from heat.
• Gradually stir about half of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks.
• Return egg mixture to saucepan.
• Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, till mixture is slightly thickened and almost bubbly-- 3 to 5 minutes.
• Remove saucepan from heat.
• Stir in whipping cream.
• Place saucepan in a bowl of ice water, stir occasionally till mixture stiffens and becomes hard to stir (20 minutes).
• Transfer chocolate mixture to a medium mixing bowl.
• Beat the cooled chocolate mixture with an electric mixer on Medium to High speed until light and fluffy 2 or 3 mins.
• Spread filling in a baked pastry shell.
• Cover and chill pie 4-5 hours or until set Best served within 24 hours, but will last 3-4 days if stored properly.
• Serve with whipped cream and a garnish with chocolate curls.