Ingredients
Crisp Crust
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, soft
- 2/3 cup Imperial Sugar Confectioners Powdered Sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour*
Chocolate Cream
- 1/2 cup (120 g) half and half
- 3/4 cup (150 g) Imperial Sugar Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
- 4 tablespoons (36 g) cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 1/2 (600 g) cups half and half
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons coffee liqueur (optional)
- 1 2/3 cup good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped (260 g) about 50-55% cocoa
Decoration
- 100 g bar good quality chocolate for chocolate shavings (optional)
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon Imperial Sugar Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
- For crust, mix butter and powdered sugar using a paddle attachment until well blended. Add egg and mix until well combined. Scrape well, mix again, and add salt and vanilla.
- Sift flour and in one step to above. On lowest speed, mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Press dough evenly flat onto a sheet of plastic food film. Place dough in refrigerator or freezer for at least 30 minutes or until well chilled.
- Meanwhile chill work surface area that you will be rolling dough on by placing one or 2 cookie sheets filled with ice cubes on it.
- Set aside a deep, 9-inch pie pan and preheat oven to 385°F.
- Sprinkle chilled area lightly with flour and roll dough into a circle large enough to cover entire pie pan. Place dough into pie pan and remove excess.
- Prick bottom of pie shell with a fork. Place in oven; using pie weights or beans is not necessary.
- After 4-5 minutes of baking check pie. If bubbles are forming, prick again with a fork. If a small area of sides collapsed, press it back up. Bake until pie shell is golden or golden brown, about 12-14 minutes (Time will depend on thickness and type of pie vessel used.)
- For chocolate cream, in a saucepan large enough to hold all ingredients, whisk 1/2 cup of listed half and half, sugar, cornstarch, and salt until lump free. Vigorously whisk in egg yolks.
- Add remaining half and half and whisk to a full boil. Once mixture comes near boiling, it is very important to whisk well to prevent the cream from burning on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat when mixture makes thick bubbles.
- Add vanilla, coffee liqueur, and chocolate. Using a whisk, mix gently and slowly to a smooth cream.
- Pour while still warm into prebaked crust. Cover cream with a piece of plastic food film and place in the refrigerator.
- After a few hours or when cream has cooled completely, prepare whipped cream. Whip cream, sugar, and vanilla to firm peaks. Fit it into a piping bag fitted with a large French Star pastry tip.
- Pipe a border onto edge of pie and return it to the refrigerator.
- Prepare chocolate shavings. Chop chocolate into peanut size pieces. Melt chocolate in 10-15 second increments in a microwave oven or over a double boiler. If chocolate does not melt properly, add a teaspoon of vegetable oil.
- Heat a cookie or jelly roll pan briefly under an oven broiler. Pan needs to be warm but not so hot that you cannot touch it with bare hands.
- Spread chocolate (on still warm pan) super thin using a metal offset spatula. Place the pan in the refrigerator for about 10-20 minutes or until chocolate has hardened.
- Remove from refrigerator and wait about a minute. Scrape chocolate off cookie sheet using a plastic putty knife or metal spatula. If chocolate gets too soft, return it to the fridge.
- Place shavings on pie. Serve immediately or return to refrigerator.
Imperial Sugar Insight
Pie pans vary in depth, for this dessert, select a pie pan that can hold 6-7 cups of water.