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

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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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10 Responses to “Watermelon cupcakes”

  1. #
    1
    Joelen — August 3, 2008 at 11:57 pm

    How adorable!! So creative and I’m sure delicious too!

  2. #
    2
    Carrie — August 4, 2008 at 12:20 am

    Those are SOOO cute!

  3. #
    3
    Sarah — August 4, 2008 at 1:50 am

    Those may be the cutest cupcakes I’ve ever seen!

  4. #
    4
    Katie — August 4, 2008 at 11:28 am

    Oh my goodness! HOW CUTE! I seriously LOVe this idea! I’m so starring these to make! Thanks!

  5. #
    5
    ~Amber~ — August 5, 2008 at 12:16 pm

    These are so adorable!!

  6. #
    6
    sterling — August 7, 2008 at 4:31 pm

    Fabulous idea. I think your idea of the two shades of green was great too!

  7. #
    7
    Ivy — August 18, 2008 at 9:17 pm

    Cool! I love watermelon. These look like so much fun, kids would go crazy for these. 🙂

  8. #
    8
    Nate — August 21, 2008 at 8:10 pm

    Beyond being probably the best looking summer cupcakes invented. I have to give props to the chef on the taste front as well. These were highly popular at said cookout and were demolished by all.

  9. #
    9
    Marija — September 24, 2008 at 2:48 pm

    I love them! So creative!

  10. #
    10
    Jacqueline — July 22, 2020 at 11:34 am

    Do I have to put in coffee? I can’t stand coffee at all.

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