French Silk Pie

Monday, July 12, 2010

My little brother A came to Boston for a visit a couple weeks ago. Although, I suppose calling him my little brother is a bit misleading. He’s growing up fast and just graduated high school this past May. And he towers over the entire family at 6’4″.

As with most people who come to visit, I asked A if he wanted me to bake him something while he was here. He immediately responded “French Silk Pie”. Now I’ve never actually had French Silk Pie let alone baked one. Apparently, it’s A’s favorite dessert though. He’s even baked them himself in the past.

After I found out he had baked his own French Silk Pie, I decided it would be more fun to bake the pie together than for me to bake it for him. I figured we could get some quality sibling bonding time in the kitchen.

A and I had a good time making this pie. He had never made a crust from scratch before and this one was really easy. You just crush up some nuts, mix in some butter, and press it into the pie plate. It can’t get much easier than that!

We whipped up the mousse and filled the shell. Then came the painful part, letting it set. We ended up letting the pie chill in the fridge overnight. The next night after dinner, we topped it with some freshly whipped cream and chocolate shavings. I can’t comment on how this compares to other French Silk Pies out there, but everyone really enjoyed this pie. I’m pretty sure A had 3 pieces himself before heading back to the Midwest.

One Year Ago: Buttermilk Cupcakes with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Two Years Ago: Red White and Blue No-Bake Frozen Cupcakes

French Silk Pie

Yield: 8

Ingredients:

For the Crust
8 Tbsp chilled salted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
1/3 cup pecan halves
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt

For the Filling
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
Whipped cream, for serving
Chocolate curls, for serving

Directions:

For the Crust
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-inch pie plate; set aside. Grind pecans in a food processor, or chop very finely with a knife. In a medium bowl, combine flour, pecans, sugar, and salt. Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press firmly into prepared pie plate. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

For the Filling
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With machine running, gradually add melted chocolate and the vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating at medium speed for five minutes after each addition. Pour filling into cooled pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap, and transfer to the refrigerator to cool for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Just before serving, top pie with whipped cream, and decorate with chocolate curls.

Recipe from Martha Stewart

Dessert, Family Favorites, Pies and Tarts

12 comments »

17 Responses to “Fauxstess Cupcakes”

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Maryanna — April 9, 2009 at 3:16 pm

These are darling!
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Kerstin — April 9, 2009 at 4:04 pm

Adorable – I love the cupcake liners!
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3

Anali — April 9, 2009 at 5:57 pm

These look great! I’ve got to try them soon! ; )
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oneparticularkitchen — April 9, 2009 at 7:56 pm

How adorable! Oh The Yankee would just eat these up.
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Mermaid Sweets — April 9, 2009 at 8:20 pm

I have been wanting to try these too – nice post, I love the photos.
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Maria — April 9, 2009 at 8:52 pm

They look perfect! YUM!
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7

Jamie — April 10, 2009 at 1:12 am

Sooo freaking adorable! I have these liners, so I will be making these in the very near future!!! Well done!!!
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rickdog — April 10, 2009 at 8:54 pm

Find more Fauxstess Cupcakes in my recipe blog search:
HERE
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Sarah — April 10, 2009 at 11:41 pm

So cute and yum!
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10

Stephanie Wagner — April 11, 2009 at 12:03 am

Could these be any cuter?? I love the idea of home baking classic favorites like this!
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oneordinaryday — April 11, 2009 at 1:58 pm

This looks perfect! Yum!
Michelle
http://oneordinaryday.wordpress.com/
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kitchenbelle — April 13, 2009 at 6:09 pm

Great job! Your cupcakes are perfect! They look just like Hostess except SO MUCH BETTER! Your ganache is so nice and shiny!
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Jigginjessica — April 16, 2009 at 3:07 pm

I love these cupcakes! They have been on my to try list forever and I think that maybe today might be the day I finally try them.

Also, I didn’t even realize you had less swirls, shows how well I know a hostess cupcake!
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bcallegra — April 20, 2009 at 1:56 am

I made them this weekend and am now officially addicted to the filling – it reminds me of marshmallow creme! Although my cupcakes (and pictures) pale in comparison to your version, I need to thank you once again for supplying me with a great recipe.
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Simply Inviting Weddings — November 29, 2010 at 11:34 pm

I searched all over for a recipe like this and didn’t want to use marshmallow creme for the filling! These are amazing- my family was fighting over them. Thanks for sharing!
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Seantellc — April 1, 2011 at 4:18 pm

so in your recipe you say to put the batter into the wells of a muffin tin coated with non-stick spray. Does that mean not use cupcake liners, or does that mean to spray the liners with non-stick spray?
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beantownbaker — April 1, 2011 at 6:33 pm

Sorry, I’ll fix the recipe. You don’t need to spray the cupcake liners.

French Silk Pie