Valeries Perfected French Silk Pie Food

FRENCH SILK PIE

Steps:

• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Crush the crackers in a food processor or resealable bag. Pour them into a bowl and stir in the melted butter and sugar. Press into a pie pan and bake until golden and set, 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
• For the filling: In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the baking chocolate until stirrable (about 45 seconds on high). Set aside to cool.
• It is important for the bowl and ingredients to be cold for the next stage of making the filling--to get the right texture and result. In a large chilled bowl with an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
• When the melted chocolate is cooled, drizzle it over the butter/sugar mixture. Add the vanilla extract. Beat the mixture thoroughly until combined (on a stand mixer, you will be using the whisk attachment).
• Turn your mixer to a medium speed and over a period of 15 to 20 minutes, add in the 4 cold eggs, one at a time, leaving about 5 minutes between each egg addition. Once the pie filling is well mixed, pour it into the baked pie shell, scraping every last speck of it out of the bowl. Smooth out the pie filling and place the pie in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours (preferably longer).
• For the topping: Add the heavy cream and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip until it is stiff. Cover the pies with a thick layer of cream. Grate the semisweet chocolate over the top.

VALERIE'S PERFECTED FRENCH SILK PIE

Steps:

• Creme softened, but not melted, butter and sugar until very light and fluffy.
• In a double boiler melt chocolate with 2 teaspoons of water and blend with vanilla.
• Add the eggs to the butter mixture, one at a time, beating each for at least 2 minutes before adding the next.
• Whip until very light and fluffy.
• Pour immediately into pie shell and refrigerate (before it loses it's fluffiness).
• Chill at least 2 hours before serving.
• Top with whipped cream or whipped topping and sprinkle with almond slivers.
• (I grate up some of the unsweetened chocolate to make chocolate curls, or sprinkles at least).

CHOCOLATE FRENCH SILK PIE (COPYCAT BAKERS SQUARE'S FRENCH SILK)

Steps:

• Bake a pie crust or use a Mrs. Smiths frozen crust and make according to package directions.
• Beat sugar and butter until sugar is not grainy (this can take up to 15-20 mins on med-high speed using an electric mixer).
• Add chocolate and vanilla. Add eggs, two at a time, beating 5 minutes after each addition.
• Pour into cooled pie crust. Chill 2 hours or until firm.
• Before serving, top with whipped cream and a little grated chocolate.

EXTREMELY RICH FRENCH SILK PIE

Steps:

• Crust:.
• Make crumbs out of the graham crackers (about 12- 15 crackers) by covering them with plastic wrap and rolling over them with a rolling pin until you have fine crumbs.
• Mix crackers, sugar, and butter in a mixing bowl with a mixer on low speed, hands or a fork, until you have a constancy of course meal.
• Press into a 9-inch pie pan.
• Bake at 375°F for 8- 10 minutes.
• Filling:.
• With an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar until you get a light airy texture.
• (You will get best results if you use paddle attachments on the mixer. Regular beaters are fine but if you use this, stop occasionally and clean out the butter/sugar mixture with a rubber spatula as the blades can become clogged.) Do not over cream the butter.
• If the butter starts to break down and separate, rechill for 5- 15 minutes.
• Add the cooled chocolate and measured vanilla.
• One at a time add eggs.
• With your electric mixer beat a minimum of 5 minutes for each egg before adding the next and after the last egg the mixture should be VERY smooth.
• Move the mixture into the graham cracker pie crust.
• Topping:.
• Whip cream until it starts to stiffen.
• Add the vanilla and sugar and beat until peaks form and hold.
• Top the pie with the whipped cream.
• Drizzle the chocolate syrup on top of the pie in a random pattern.
• Grate the unsweetened chocolate on top of the pie.
• Finishing:.
• Chill the pie for 3- 24 hours.
• The toppings can be added after chilling if preferred (chill time is listed as cook time).

FRENCH SILK PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Brush beaten egg over all surfaces of pie crust, including edges. Prick holes into the bottom and sides of the crust using a fork.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Combine sugar and 2 eggs in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir continuously, adjusting heat as needed to make sure mixture does not boil or bubble, until it coats the back of a spoon and an instant-read thermometer reads 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 10 minutes.
• Remove mixture from heat and stir in melted chocolate and vanilla extract; allow to cool to lukewarm temperature, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Beat butter in a separate large bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add chocolate mixture and continue to beat on high speed until thick and creamy, about 5 minutes.
• Beat cold heavy cream in a separate bowl until slightly thick. Add powdered sugar all at once and continue to beat on medium to medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold into chocolate mixture, stirring very gently as to not decrease the volume by stirring too much. Pour into the prepared pie crust and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.