Aunt Marg’s French Silk Chocolate Pie

November 20, 2010

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I have talked about my Aunt Marg before.  She’s a legend in our family for winning a washer and dryer in a baking contest with her Hickory Nut Cake. You can read about it here.  Then there’s her Fresh Peach Pie and now this recipe for French Silk Chocolate Pie which shows up frequently at our Thanksgiving and/or Christmas celebrations.

This pie has two outstanding characteristics.

  • Crumbly pecan-studded crust
  • Chopped Skor or Heath Bar on top

Contrast those two crunchy textures with the exquisitely smooth chocolate filling and you have yourself the same delight as jumping in a cool swimming pool on a hot Texas day after mowing the yard.  The pleasure is almost unbearable!

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Warning: If you are squeamish about eating uncooked eggs,  look away. It’s how our family does this pie and since I’m recording this for a family cookbook, it has to be done.

Aunt Marg’s French Silk Chocolate Pie

Makes 8 small servings.

Ingredients for Crust
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cold butter
1/2 cup pecans

Directions for Crust
Place flour and butter in food processor.  Pulse until crumbly like oatmeal. Add pecans and pulse till all pieces are slightly smaller than oatmeal. Press into 7-1/2 or 8-inch pie plate.  Bake at 400 degrees for 12-13 minutes. Cool.

Ingredients for Filling
1/2 cup cool butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1/2 to 1 chocolate-covered toffee candy bar (i.e. Heath or Skor bar), chopped

Directions for Filling
In stand mixer, whip butter until light and smooth for 1-2 minutes. Add sugar and continue to whip for 2 minutes. Add chocolate and beat another minute. Add one egg. Mix for 2 minutes on medium. Add second egg and beat for 3-5 minutes or however long it takes to dissolve the sugar completely.

Taste it and see if you feel any graininess on your tongue. If so, keep mixing. Undissolved sugar will make you think you are eating a sand pie which kinda puts a damper on the whole experience.

Spoon filling into cooled crust and refrigerate until firm. Sprinkle with chopped Heath or Skor Bars. Whipped cream wouldn’t be bad either.

Beware: This is not a good pie to make on a hot day. It will melt.

Next up?  Three of my favorite ways to use leftover pumpkin. Don’t throw out that half can of pumpkin yet but you might want to put it in a plastic bag and freeze it. Mash it flat so it will thaw quickly.

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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }

spacer 1 Jill November 20, 2010 at 5:22 pm

Oh my gosh, I really wish I had a piece of that in front of me right now.

I have a recipe from my grandma with raw eggs. I ate it countless times growing up and never had a problem, but I was thinking about buying pasteurized eggs the next time I make it.
Jill recently posted..Tuesdays with Dorie- Cranberry Lime Galette

spacer 2 ldh November 20, 2010 at 6:25 pm

Oh, Paula, I have learned that any recipe featured on your blog is a good one and this looks delicious!

Left over pumpkin ~ I like the idea of freezing it flat. Such a good idea for storage with freezer space so valuable and I never thought of it. Nice to have smart blogging friends spacer
ldh recently posted..Autumn Leaf Spritz Cookies

spacer 3 Betty @ scrambled hen fruit November 20, 2010 at 6:45 pm

That pie is dreamy! I don’t have a problem with raw eggs as long as they’re eggs I know and trust. spacer
Betty @ scrambled hen fruit recently posted..Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

spacer 4 Katrina November 20, 2010 at 10:33 pm

That looks great. I had a French Silk Pie throwdown with some friends a few months back. I learned a “trick” with the pie I made, use superfine sugar, which dissolved better (still recommend the times you have for beating the ingredients). For the throwdown, I tried many different recipes, but liked the one I used superfine sugar for better. I also tried some with different amounts of chocolate and 2 ounces won.
And now I want to try your Aunt’s recipe. Maybe I will for Thanksgiving. I’m always bored by just all the pumpkin pie. spacer Love the toffee on top, too!
Katrina recently posted..Apple Strudel Pockets and a Pillsbury Giveaway

spacer 5 Katd November 20, 2010 at 11:35 pm

Now, that’s heaven on a plate! Thanks for the recipe.

Hugs,
Kat
Katd recently posted..MEMISBEHAVE

spacer 6 Paula November 21, 2010 at 2:20 am

omg. this looks absolutely divine, Paula!

have a nice time,
Paula
Paula recently posted..Czekoladowo – Migdałowe Naleśniki z Dulce de Leche

spacer 7 Paula November 21, 2010 at 5:52 am

I knew you would like the toffee, Katrina. The idea of using superfine sugar makes sense. I supposed you could put regular granulated sugar in a blender to accomplish pretty much the same thing.

spacer 8 Paula November 21, 2010 at 9:17 am

This looks delicious and the crumbly pecan crust is something I know I would love.
Paula recently posted..Christmas Angels – Singing Angels

spacer 9 Suzanne November 21, 2010 at 8:46 pm

I love chocolate silk pie and I can’t wait for Thanksgiving to eat my sister-laws yum. I do have to say your looks quite delicious too! We can never have enough great pie recipes spacer
Suzanne recently posted..I’ve Moved!!

spacer 10 Mimi November 22, 2010 at 9:54 pm

I think Aunt Marg knows a thing or two about pie! I’m sure my family would love your pie.
Happy Thanksgiving
Mimi
Mimi recently posted..TWD-Cranberry Lime Galette

spacer 11 naomi November 23, 2010 at 2:19 am

I love French silk pie and love that it is paired with a crushed pecan crust!

spacer 12 Katrina November 23, 2010 at 1:58 pm

I agree, I know you can make superfine sugar by putting it in a blender or food processor.
I AM making this. I’m about to premake the crust.
Katrina recently posted..TWD—Rewind and Pillsbury Giveaway Reminder

spacer 13 Amy (Sing For Your Supper) November 23, 2010 at 4:21 pm

Looks like Aunt Marg hit a homerun with this one!! Gorgeous!!

spacer 14 Tamara November 23, 2010 at 7:20 pm

Yowza! Coming soon to a table near me!

spacer 15 Danny Dave November 24, 2010 at 6:34 am

Thanks for a great recipe. Raw eggs is not really an issue with me, so this would be perfect for the holidays.

spacer 16 mike November 26, 2010 at 7:22 pm

Another wonderful pie recipe! And I love toffee – made a toffee cream cheesecake the other day – with crushed bars. A holiday to-make list, for sure. And I really like nut crusts too – they give it so much texture and flavor! Looks wonderful – thanks Aunt Marg!

spacer 17 Katrina December 5, 2010 at 10:50 pm

The pie was a HUGE hit for T-day. With our crowd of 60 and about 30 pies/desserts, no kidding, this was the first pie gone. It got big raves by those lucky ones who got some. My son had a slice and didn’t eat it all, so I tasted his. Divine!
Katrina recently posted..Two Fantastic Muffins—Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins with White Chocolate Chunks and Chocolate Chip Banana Gingerbread Muffins

spacer 18 JeremyT December 21, 2010 at 12:03 am

Wow!!! That looks AMAZING, thanks for the recipe! I plan on making it for Christmas Eve.

I do have one question though. When you listed the unsweetened chocolate in the ingredients, you stated that it needs to be melted and cooled. How cool does it need to be? Obviously not solid again, but not hot off the double boiler or microwave.
JeremyT recently posted..Sweet!

spacer 19 Paula December 21, 2010 at 5:44 am

Room temperature is good.

spacer 20 Marilee February 14, 2011 at 9:35 pm

Hi Paula,
I’ve made a chocolate silk pie, for 20 years or more, using just margarine. (then the 2 raw eggs, sugar, vanilla) For some reason, in the last few years, the pie is watery and grainy. I’ve used all brands of margarine, cold eggs, room temp. eggs, longer beating times, etc. etc….. Do you know why the pie doesn’t set up like it use to?
Thanks so much!

spacer 21 Paula February 14, 2011 at 9:48 pm

Marilee, I’ve never made it with margarine. Using real butter is just too fabulous. Have you switched brands? Are you using diet margarine? It definitely has more water in it. I’ll pose the question to my readers on Facebook this week. Maybe somebody will have an idea.

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