In the Kitchen: Chocolate French Silk Pie

This delicious pie is a holiday staple in my family. Either my Mom or I make it every Thanksgiving, every Christmas, and if Tyler is lucky, he gets it on his birthday. I won't lie and say it's super easy to make, but it's not technically difficult. There are just a lot of steps and it takes some time, but the results are well worth the work. I make my own crust and my own whip cream, but you can easily use store bought. You will find a printable recipe card at the end of this post.

Prep time: 40 min | Chill Time: 5 hours | Serves 8 - 10

Ingredients:

1 baked pastry shell

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces (6 oz)

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs yolks, beaten

3 tablespoons whipping cream

1 cup whipped cream

Beat two egg yolks in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a medium heavy saucepan combine 1 cup whipping cream, the chocolate pieces, butter and sugar.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate is melted (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat.

Gradually stir half the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks. Add the egg mixture back to the remaining chocolate in the pan and continue cooking over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to thicken (about 5 minutes or so).

Remove from heat. Stir in 3 tablespoons of whipping cream.

Place the saucepan in a bowl of ice water, stirring the mixture occasionally, until it begins to stiffen (about 20 - 30 minutes).

In the meantime, prepare your pastry shell. You can use homemade or store bought but it needs to be baked before you fill it.

When the chocolate is done chilling, transfer to a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Spread the filling in your pastry shell, cover and chill for 5 - 24 hours.

Before serving, top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. I make homemade whip cream but you can use store bought, Cool Whip works good. I also use a deep dish pie pan when making this so I can get a good thick layer of whip cream.

Since Thanksgiving was a bit ravenous at our house this year, I didn't have the chance to get a pie slice photo before it was gone! Though I'm sure you can imagine how scrumptious it looks, and now you'll just have to try it yourself. I'd love to hear what you think!

> Click here for a printable recipe card

And find more easy and delicious recipes here.