French Silk Pie
My little brother A came to Boston for a visit a couple weeks ago. Although, I suppose calling him my little brother is a bit misleading. He’s growing up fast and just graduated high school this past May. And he towers over the entire family at 6’4″.
As with most people who come to visit, I asked A if he wanted me to bake him something while he was here. He immediately responded “French Silk Pie”. Now I’ve never actually had French Silk Pie let alone baked one. Apparently, it’s A’s favorite dessert though. He’s even baked them himself in the past.
After I found out he had baked his own French Silk Pie, I decided it would be more fun to bake the pie together than for me to bake it for him. I figured we could get some quality sibling bonding time in the kitchen.
A and I had a good time making this pie. He had never made a crust from scratch before and this one was really easy. You just crush up some nuts, mix in some butter, and press it into the pie plate. It can’t get much easier than that!
We whipped up the mousse and filled the shell. Then came the painful part, letting it set. We ended up letting the pie chill in the fridge overnight. The next night after dinner, we topped it with some freshly whipped cream and chocolate shavings. I can’t comment on how this compares to other French Silk Pies out there, but everyone really enjoyed this pie. I’m pretty sure A had 3 pieces himself before heading back to the Midwest.
One Year Ago: Buttermilk Cupcakes with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Two Years Ago: Red White and Blue No-Bake Frozen Cupcakes
French Silk Pie
Yield: 8
Ingredients:
For the Crust
8 Tbsp chilled salted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
1/3 cup pecan halves
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
For the Filling
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
Whipped cream, for serving
Chocolate curls, for serving
Directions:
For 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.
For 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.
Recipe from Martha Stewart
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Peanut butter and chocolate is my most favorite combination ever! I’m so happy you love your kitchen and it’s really sweet of you to bake for your designer. Homemade treats are such a delicious way to say thank you:)
Oh wow – these look like the best brownies ever. Beautiful!
Amazing looking brownies!
Does your designer sign on for small projects? We’re looking to add some backsplash. The area behind the sink and stove is just so plain.
Megan, Our designer works at Home Depot in the kitchen department. So I think she only does projects where you order cabinets/countertops from Home Depot…
We start kitchen destruction at the end of the week! I’m so excited!! Great idea about the counter on top of the radiator!! I’d be totally excited is someone showed up to my work with those brownies 🙂
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!! those look sooooooo good!!
Oddly enough I don’t like chocolate or PB on their own but together it’s a whole other story! LOVE it so this is right up my alley.
~ingrid
Yours look great! I am glad you liked them. I was very pleasantly surprised when I tried this for the first time. (And fantastic pictures!)
Can’t wait to try the recipe- thanks! When do we get to see pics of the new (finished) kitchen? 🙂
Peanut butter and brownies! What could be better?
These look phenomenal, what an awesome way to spice up some brownies!
Yum, these look fabulous!
Those look Heavenly!
MMMMM I could seriously go for a whole plate full of those right now!!