Deconstructing French silk pie!

I will travel miles for a French silk pie!  The smooth, velvety texture, and the rich chocolate flavor, is one of my true pleasures!

Unfortunately, the dessert is laden with sugar and fat. It is not something you can have for breakfast every day!  But there are ways to cut back on the bad stuff, and still produce a dessert that is tasty and satisfying. 

Jane’s French silk pie

Velvety chocolate flavor all in one bite!

The filling

3 squares unsweetened chocolate

1 c. sugar

¾ c. butter

1 ½ tsp. vanilla, almond extract, Kahlua, Frangelico, or Bailey’s Irish cream

3 eggs

A pinch of salt

Optional:  1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, or expresso powder

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and let cool.  

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in the chocolate, salt, and your choice of liquor.  Add the eggs, beating them into the mixture one at a time for several minutes.  Pour into the pastry shell and refrigerate overnight.  Once the pie has set, top with whipped cream.

The pie crust

2 ½ c. flour

½ c. butter, softened

½ c. shortening

2 tsp. salt

6 to 8 TB. water

In a large bowl, place the flour, salt, butter and shortening.  Using clean hands, mix together until the mixture forms into large pebbles.  Gradually add in the water until the mixture forms into a cohesive ball.  (Note: you may not need all of the water.)  Wrap in plastic wrap, place in a zipped bag, and refrigerate overnight. 

The next day:  Remove from the refrigerator and let it sit about 15 minutes, allowing the dough to soften.  Roll out into a large circle on a floured surface, rotating the direction you roll out dough to maintain a circular shape.  Roll the dough out until it is about 1/8 inch thick or it completely covers the pie pan. Place in the pie pan, and flute the edges.  Poke the bottom with a fork.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, until lightly brown.  Let cool completely.

The whipped cream

1 c. heavy whipping cream

1 TB. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla, almond extract, Kahlua, Frangelico, or Bailey’s Irish cream (whatever liquor was used in the pie filling.)

Optional:  A pinch of cinnamon, expresso powder or cayenne pepper

Add all of the ingredients to a chilled, metal bowl.  Using an electric mixer, whisk at high speed until medium peaks form, about four minutes. Spoon on top of the pie mixture, and spread with a spoon. Garnish with peels of unsweetened chocolate.

This week, I take a different approach to deconstruction.  When breaking down the recipe for French Silk pie, it was difficult to analyze the recipe ingredient by ingredient.  French silk pie has a combination of ingredients, each one interacting with the others to create its unique flavor and texture.  So I wound up creating two entirely new recipes.  One is very light, and has a texture more like a chocolate mousse.  The other has a texture more reminiscent of a French silk pie, but is much more difficult to make

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Each recipe allows you to adjust the ingredients for fat and sugar according to your needs. You can also experiment with spices and liquors to increase the depth of flavor. Try both recipes to determine which one is a satisfying substitute for the original recipe.

Mock French silk pie #1

1 large pkg. sugar-free dark or milk chocolate pudding mix

1 ¼ c. low fat milk

2 TB. Hershey’s Lite chocolate syrup

8 oz. container whipped topping, lite, fat or sugar-free, thawed

1/2 c. sugar-free chocolate chips

Optional:  ¼ tsp. expresso powder, cinnamon, or cayenne pepper

Optional:  fresh berries

Optional:  ¼-1/2 tsp. granulated sugar substitute

Optional:  8 oz. whipped topping, lite, or sugar-free

Pre-made graham cracker pie crust, fat or sugar-free

Whisk together the pudding mix, and milk. Add the chocolate syrup, and if desired, the sugar substitute and spices.  Set aside and let thicken.  The mixture will be pasty and somewhat dry.  Add one 8 oz. container of whipped topping and whisk until well-integrated. Mix in ¼ c. chocolate chips and pour into the graham cracker crust. The mixture will be lighter in color than the original pie.  (You can eliminate the crust completely.  Simply pour the mixture into pudding cups or ramekins.  You will have a low-fat, low-sugar chocolate mousse!)   Refrigerate overnight.  Top with the second container of the whipped topping, if desired, and a sprinkling of sugar-free chocolate chips, a drizzle of chocolate syrup, and/or fresh berries.

This second mock French silk pie is higher in sugar and fat, but more accurately imitates the texture of the original pie.

Mock French silk pie #2

1 ½ tsp. unflavored gelatin

1 ¼ c. low or no-fat milk

1/3 c. sugar

1/3 c. granulated sugar substitute

¼ c. cornstarch, or a comparable amount of Agar Agar

1/3 c. cocoa powder

3 egg yolks or a comparable amount of egg substitute

3 TB. butter

2 tsp. vanilla or Kahlua

Optional:  1 tsp. expresso powder, cinnamon, or cayenne pepper

1 ½ c. whipped topping

¼ c. sugar-free chocolate chips

Pre-made graham cracker pie crust, fat or sugar-free

Add 1 c. milk and gelatin to a sauce pan, and stir.  Let stand for 2 minutes.  Cook over low heat until bubbles form around the edges.  Remove from the heat.

In another bowl, sift the sugar, sugar substitute, cornstarch, and cocoa powder.  Whisk in the egg yolks and ¼ c. milk until well blended. Add a small amount of the warm milk mixture to the sugar mixture (tempering), and whisk. Pour all of the sugar mixture into the milk, whisking vigorously over medium heat until the mixture thickens.  Bring to a boil, and continue to whisk the mixture until it thickens significantly, about two minutes.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla.

Transfer the entire mixture to a large, chilled metal bowl.  Spray a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap with cooking spray and lightly press onto the surface of the pie filling.  Refrigerate for at least 60 minutes.

Remove the covering from the pie filling.  Beat the filling with an electric mixer at high speed until smooth and glossy, about 4 minutes.  Fold in the whipped topping and spoon into the graham cracker crust, spreading evenly. Refrigerate until the pie filling sets, about 2 hours.  Sprinkle with unsweetened chocolate chips, or drizzle with chocolate syrup, and serve.  Store in the refrigerator covered with foil.