Chocolate Silk Pie

I asked my daughter what we should do for this week’s “In the Kitchen” post and she immediately replied with “Chocolate Pie.” I asked if she thought we should do something healthier and she said, “Of course not!” … She is SO my child.

I had searched a few recipes for chocolate silk pie for one that was within my skill level (HA!) and to make a grocery list (I only intended to go to the store once). While I was reading the recipe, I was surprised to learn that chocolate silk pie includes uncooked eggs…am I the only one who didn’t know this? Luckily, I have had my (okay, several peoples’) fair share of raw cookie dough, so uncooked eggs don’t scare me. If Rocky can eat them, I can, too (*wink*).

However, the next day when I went to look up that same recipe, I couldn’t find it. But I did learn that there is a difference between Chocolate Pie and French Silk Pie…one cooks the eggs and one is made with dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. We settled on a different recipe which DID involve cooking the eggs (along with an unhealthy dose of sugar over the stove on low heat), so we didn’t have to go all Balboa on this one. We did have to “stir constantly” …probably so my eggs didn’t end up looking like an omelet. The recipe said to cook the eggs/sugar mixture until it was about 160 degrees…having no other way to tell how hot it was, I used a meat thermometer, so I can assure you that the eggs were no longer raw. Then we melted some chocolate mini-morsels in the microwave and whisked them with some vanilla extract into my non-omelet concoction “until smooth,” which took some time and elbow grease as it was somewhat thick.

Then we had to cream the butter until it was “light and fluffy” …I really should invest in a stand mixer. I currently have a hand mixer and assorted sizes of bowls. I tend to use the smaller ones because they fit in the sink easier, but apparently, everything I mix likes to splash over of the sides of them when I put the mixer on higher speeds. My counter was now sprinkled with fluffy butter. And the chocolate mixture I added to it. And heavy cream, which was “beaten” with some powdered sugar. I was supposed to then “fold” the cream mixture into the chocolate mixture, but as it was in a smaller bowl, I hadn’t beaten the chocolate concoction on high speed like the recipe called for because, quite frankly, my counter was messy enough and I didn’t want all the sugared-eggy-buttery-chocolaty-cream to end up on my cabinets, too. Plus, I try to minimize waste — especially that of perfectly edible chocolate. So I added the chocolate mix to the white cream mix (which was in a bigger bowl) and zapped my mixer on high for a few minutes.

We ended up with a chocolate mousse-type filling that was a few shades lighter than I anticipated, but it looked quite delicious and even pretty once it was poured in the chocolate crust. Then we had to let it set in the fridge for six hours before we could top it with Cool Whip (also in the fridge but “thawing” instead of “setting”) and more mini morsels. I was not made to wait for food. Zoe and I were able to sample our pie that night and I can tell you that we both agreed it was delicious…luckily, we had company the next night and I therefore had help eating it or I would have eventually eaten the whole thing myself. In case you were wondering, yes, I have a very good idea of how much sugar I’ve consumed this month … maybe next month should be about liposuction. However, my budget is a bit far from the “plastic surgery” size and more along the lines of the “starve and go to the gym” size, so I suspect next month you’ll be entertained by some sort of my self-inflicted torture. Stay tuned.