If you’ve been dreaming of a fabulously decadent chocolate dessert, look no further. This pie hits all right notes! The crust is a crisp vanilla shortbread. The filling is a rich whipped chocolate that is smooth and silky. If you love french silk pie, this is the dessert for you.
Yield: 10 servings
Serving size: 1 slice
Ingredients for the cookie crust:
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 1 1/4 cups superfine almond flour
- 1 large egg
- 1/8 cup natural, non-GMO granular erythritol
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp. baking powder
- 1/8 tsp. salt
Ingredients for the filling:
- 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. natural, non-GMO confectioners/powdered erythritol
- 3 oz 88% dark chocolate
- 6 tbsp. heavy cream
- 1/2 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
Directions for the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Butter a standard pie tin.
- Place the cream cheese in a small bowl. Soften the cream cheese in the microwave until very soft, for about 10 seconds.
- Place the salt, baking powder, erythritol, and 3/4 cup of the almond flour into a bowl. Mix well with a fork to combine.
- Add in the egg, vanilla, and the cream cheese. Mix well to completely combine. You should now have a wet, slightly sticky dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean plate. Add in the remaining 1/2 cup of almond flour a little bit at a time, kneading and working the dough to incorporate all the flour.
- Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, and roll it into a circle that is a little bit larger than the top of your pie tin. A trick I’ve learned is to tape the bottom piece of parchment to my work surface with blue painter’s tape. This prevents the paper from slipping and sliding while you’re trying to roll out the dough. If the dough sticks to the paper, you may have rolled it too thin, or you might need to add in a bit more almond flour.
- Remove the top sheet of parchment paper, and all of the blue tape if you used it.
- Place the prepared pie tin upside down on top of the dough. Use the ends of the paper to carefully lift the dough and the pie tin together. While still holding the parchment paper, carefully grip the pie tin with your fingers and invert it with the dough, so that it’s right side up.
- Gently place the pie plate onto your work surface. Carefully remove the parchment paper. Use your fingertips to gently press the dough down into the plate, and up the sides where needed.
- Use a knife to trim any excess dough from the outer rim of the plate. You can use these scraps to repair any holes in the crust, or to even out the edges of the crust.
- Use your fingers in a pinching motion to crimp the crust. An alternate form of decoration would be to crimp the edges by pressing them with the tines of a fork.
- Prick the bottom of the crust in several places with the tines of a fork. Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until it is golden brown.
- Remove the baked crust from the oven, and place it on a cooling rack. Cool completely.
Directions for the filling:
- Place the chocolate and 2 tbsp. of the heavy cream into a small microwaveable bowl. Place the bowl into the microwave and heat on high for 1 minute.
- Carefully remove the bowl from the microwave. Mix the chocolate and cream with a spoon to combine, and to ensure all of the chocolate has melted.
- Add another 2 tbsp. of heavy cream to the bowl, and mix well to combine. Set on the side for now.
- Place the softened cream cheese and the erythritol into a bowl. Beat at medium speed with an electric hand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, until fluffy. Gradually add in the softened butter, a little at a time, until the butter and cream cheese are well combined, smooth, and fluffy.
- Gradually beat in the chocolate mixture, a little at a time.
- Beat in the remaining 2 tbsp. of cream, 1 tbsp. at a time, until the filling is silky, light, and fluffy.
To Assemble the pie:
- Spoon the chocolate filling into the completely cooled pie shell.
- Smooth the top with an offset spatula. Garnish with fresh whipped cream, if desired.
