Have Dessert First

This weekend, my mom came down to visit. Since she is always so good about keeping us well-fed when we go to visit her, I thought it was about time I returned the favor. Even if she is perfectly content to call cheese and crackers a meal. So I got daring and pulled out two recipes that have been hanging out in my recipe box, waiting to be tried out for the first time on unsuspecting guinea pigs, I mean guests. I'll get to our Saturday night dinner in another post, but I wanted to share our dessert first, because you might have a holiday party coming up and this has "What-the-heck-I-already-ate-10-cookies-sure-I'll-have-a-piece" written all over it. Without further ado,

Chocolate Fudge Pie
Real Simple, November 2009


1 piecrust, store-bought or homemade, fitted into a 9-inch pie plate
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped, plus more shaved for topping
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 large eggs
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place pie plate on baking sheet. Prick crust with a fork and line with foil. Fill to top with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the edges are firm, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake until just golden, 8 to 10 minutes. **I used the piecrust recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and followed those instructions for making a baked pie shell. They are at the bottom of the post.


Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. In a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter.

It's like they knew I don't
own a double-boiler...

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, salt, and 1/2 cup of the sugar until fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes.

Fold a third of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remainder.

Yup, I tasted it right about now, raw eggs and all.

Pour the combined mixture into the crust and bake until puffed and beginning to crack, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for one hour, then chill.

Beat the cream with the remaining sugar until soft peaks form. Spread over the pie and sprinkle with the shaved chocolate.

Devour.

Now that your mouth is hopefully watering, I'll back up and give you the pie crust instructions. Let me say that one of my goals in life is to make pie crusts that are as pretty as my mom and grandmother's. I'm not there yet, but a decent pie crust is not as elusive as I once thought it was. Here's how I make mine, Better Homes and Gardens style.

Pastry for Single-Crust Pie

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

In a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea-size.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the flour mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to the side of the bowl. Repeat moistening flour mixture, using 1 tablespoon of the water at a time, until all the flour mixture is moistened. Form dough into a ball.

On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten dough. Roll dough from center to edges into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. (I like using a pastry cloth and rolling pin cover.)

To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin. Unroll pastry into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate without stretching it.

Trim pastry 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold under extra pastry. Crimp edges as desired. Bake as directed in individual recipes.

Baked Pastry Shell: Prepare as above, except prick bottom and sides of pastry with a fork. Line pastry with a double thickness of foil. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 8 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 5 to 6 minutes more or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

And that, my friends, is how you bake a little slice of heaven.