Preparation

Preparation

Pie Crust

• Blend flour, baking powder and salt in food processor;
• Grate ice cold butter into flour and pulse until mixture is crumbly – small peas sized butter is dispersed;
• Add 6 tblsp. of ice cold heavy cream; pulse until moist clumps form;
• Gather dough together. Turn dough out onto floured work surface;
• Form dough into ball and flatten into a 6" disk;
• Wrap disk in plastic and seal tightly. Refrigerate at least 1 hour;
• Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out;
• Roll pie crust into a 13" diameter and place into pie dish;

Prebake the Crust

• Preheat oven to 425°F for minimum 20 minutes;
• Dock the bottom and sides of the pie crust. Lay parchment paper on crust and fill with pie weights;¹
• Bake on lowest oven rack at 375°F for 20 minutes. Remove from oven;
• Remove parchment and pie weights and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes on middle rack ― until golden brown;
• Remove pie crust from oven and let cool ― 30 minutes.

¹ I used raw rice.

Pie Filling

• On the side, have ready a medium bowl and fine strainer.
• In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, cocoa, cornstarch and 1/4 cup of milk;¹
• In a separate pot, combine remaining 2-3/4 cups² of milk, sugar & salt;
• Over medium heat, bring milk mixture to boil;
• Whisk 1/4 cup of hot milk mixture into the chocolate egg mixture;
• Whisk the egg mixture into the hot milk mixture;
• Cook filling and continuing to whisk rapidly until mixture thickens and pools a little when dropped on a plate surface;
• Remove from heat and whisk in the chocolate and butter;
• Whisk until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth;
• Whisk in vanilla extract;
• With a rubber spatula or large spoon, immediately press the chocolate mixture through the fine strainer;
• Immediately place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the chocolate filling to prevent a skin from forming;
• Allow to cool slightly at room temperature ― 10 minutes;
• Refrigerate the filling until cold ― approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes;
• Pour the chocolate filling into the baked pie shell;
• Place a piece of greased plastic wrap directly onto the filling surface and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

¹ After the initial whisking, I then carefully blend with a hand mixer.

² Beranbaum’s The Pie & Pastry Bible instructions state 3-3/4 cups. I believe this is in error because the recipe only calls for a total of 3 cups of milk.

Topping

• In a chilled bowl, combine heavy cream and sugar and beat until soft peaks form when the beater is slowly raised;
• Add vanilla extract and beat until stiff peaks form when beat is raised;
• Remove plastic wrap from pie and mound the topping evenly atop the chocolate filling.

Add Optional Toppings: chocolate curls and raspberries on top of whipped cream.

Store

Refrigerate up to 3 days in refrigerator ― without the topping, unless it has been stabilized with Cobasan.

Source: The Pie & Pastry Bible ― Rose Levy Beranbaum