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.

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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

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25 Responses to “Chocolate Fudge Cake”

  1. #
    1
    Eva @ Eva Bakes — June 17, 2013 at 8:10 am

    Happy birthday! Today is my husband’s birthday, and he also requested a chocolate cake. I baked him Ina Garten’s Beatty’s chocolate cake. Your chocolate cake may be the one I bake for my birthday later this year. 🙂

    • beantownbaker — June 17th, 2013 @ 8:48 am

      That’s a really good chocolate cake recipe too! Tell your husband happy birthday!

  2. #
    2
    Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic — June 17, 2013 at 9:06 am

    Happy birthday! A no frills chocolate fudge cake sounds perfect 🙂

  3. #
    3
    Rachel @ Baked by Rachel — June 17, 2013 at 9:16 am

    This looks amazing!! And happy birthday!!!

  4. #
    4
    tracy {pale yellow} — June 17, 2013 at 3:07 pm

    Happy Birthday! Noting like a perfectly simple chocolate cake to ring in a new year! This one looks scrumptious!

  5. #
    5
    Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) — June 17, 2013 at 7:15 pm

    That is seriously one gorgeous cake!!! I think I’m in love!

  6. #
    6
    carolg — June 17, 2013 at 9:13 pm

    happy birthday and thanks so much for the chocolate cake- can’t have too many chocolate cake recipes

    • beantownbaker — June 18th, 2013 @ 4:02 pm

      I couldn’t agree more!

  7. #
    7
    Jessamyn — June 17, 2013 at 10:08 pm

    We’re birthday buddies! Hope you had a great day!

  8. #
    8
    Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers — June 18, 2013 at 7:05 am

    Happy Birthday! Your cake looks amazing!!

  9. #
    9
    carolg — June 18, 2013 at 8:44 am

    and if i want to make this 9 x 13?any caveats? i never know if i can just change pan size and oven time/temp?

    • beantownbaker — June 18th, 2013 @ 4:05 pm

      Two 9″ round pans is the same amount of cake batter as a 9×13 pan. I’d probably use the same temp and start checking around the same time. But I would expect it to take longer to bake in the end.

  10. #
    10
    carolg — June 18, 2013 at 9:11 pm

    tnx- 9 x 13 is easier to tote

  11. #
    11
    Nutmeg Nanny — June 18, 2013 at 10:33 pm

    Oh goodness, this looks indulgent! I need to make this for my husband as soon as I can!

  12. #
    12
    Karen - Cinnamon Freud — June 18, 2013 at 11:48 pm

    Happy birthday! This cake is to die for- looks so chocolatey and fudgey. Hope you had a great day!

    • beantownbaker — June 19th, 2013 @ 7:13 am

      Thanks! I had a great birthday this year.

  13. #
    13
    krimpetgirl — June 23, 2013 at 1:35 pm

    Tomorrow is my birthday and I am making your birthday cake for my big day!

    Thanks!

    • beantownbaker — June 23rd, 2013 @ 7:56 pm

      Happy birthday tomorrow!! Hope you enjoy the cake as much as I did.

  14. #
    14
    Shashi @ http://runninsrilankan.com — July 5, 2013 at 6:16 am

    Wow – this cake looks so good! I am always looking for chocolatecake recipes to try – so glad to have stumbled on your blog!

  15. #
    15
    Amber Berry — August 3, 2013 at 5:36 pm

    I just made this for my mom and brothers Birthday tomorrow 🙂 I will come back and let you know how mine turned out 🙂 thanks for the recipe and happy late Birthday!

    • beantownbaker — August 4th, 2013 @ 6:42 pm

      Definitely let me know how it goes!

  16. #
    16
    Amber Berry — August 4, 2013 at 10:51 pm

    The cake turned out amazing and was a huge hit! Most of the kids weren’t a huge fan but i don’t think they have learned to appreciate dark chocolate 🙂

    • beantownbaker — August 5th, 2013 @ 7:14 am

      Glad it was a success (for the adults!)

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