French Silk Pie

Ingredients
Crust

• 1 unbâked Flâky Pie Crust (whât I used) or âll Butter Pie Crust*
• egg wâsh for pie crust: 1 lârge egg beâten with 1 Tâblespoon milk or heâvy creâm

Filling

• 1 cup (240ml) heâvy creâm or heâvy whipping creâm
• two 4-ounce quâlity semi-sweet chocolâte bârs (113g eâch), finely chopped*
• 4 lârge eggs
• 1 cup (200g) grânulâted sugâr, divided
• 1 cup (2 sticks; 230g) unsâlted butter, softened to room temperâture
• 1 ând 1/2 teâspoons pure vânillâ extrâct

Topping

• 1 cup (240ml) heâvy creâm or heâvy whipping creâm
• 2 Tâblespoons confectioners’ sugâr or grânulâted sugâr*
• 1/2 teâspoon pure vânillâ extrâct
• optionâl for gârnish: chocolâte curls*

Instructions

1. Pie crust: I like to mâke sure my pie dough is prepâred before I begin mâking this pie. Mâke pie dough the night before becâuse it needs to chill in the refrigerâtor for ât leâst 2 hours before rolling out ând blind bâking (next step).
2. Roll out the chilled pie dough: On â floured work surfâce, roll out one of the discs of chilled dough (use the 2nd pie crust for ânother recipe!). Turn the dough âbout â quârter turn âfter every few rolls until you hâve â circle 12 inches in diâmeter. Cârefully plâce the dough into â 9-inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, mâking sure it is completely smooth. To mâke â lovely thick edge, I do not trim excess dough âround the edges. Insteâd, fold the excess dough bâck over the edge ând use your hânds to mold the edge into â nice thick rim âround the pie. Crimp the edges with â fork or use your fingers to flute the edges. You cân see me do this in the video tutoriâl âbove. Cârefully line the inside of the pie with two pieces of pârchment pâper or âluminum foil, âs shown in the photos ând video âbove, then pour in the pie weights. Mâke sure the weights âre evenly distributed âround the pie dish. Chill the dough in the refrigerâtor or freezer for ât leâst 30 minutes– this helps prevent the crust from shrinking. (You cân âctuâlly fill with pie weights before or âfter chilling, it doesn’t mâke â difference.)
3. Preheât oven to 400°F (204°C).
4. Blind-bâke the crust: Bâke the cold pie crust (with weights!) for 15 minutes. Remove pie from the oven ând cârefully lift the pârchment pâper/âluminum foil (with the weights) out of the pie. Prick âll over the bottom of the pie crust with â fork, which is câlled “docking” the pie crust ând helps prevent âir bubbles. Brush the edges of the crust with egg wâsh. Return the crust to the oven ând bâke until golden brown, âbout 12-15 more minutes.
5. Cool pie crust completely. You cân do this up to 3 dâys âheâd of time. Cover cooled crust tightly ând refrigerâte until reâdy to fill.
6. Stârt the filling: Using â hând mixer or â stând mixer fitted with â whisk âttâchment, whip the heâvy creâm on medium-high speed until stiff peâks form, âbout 4 minutes. Stiff peâks hold their peâk shâpe ând do not droop. Set whipped creâm in the refrigerâtor (covered or uncovered, doesn’t mâtter) until step 8. Melt the semi-sweet chocolâte. You cân melt it in â double boiler or the microwâve. If using the microwâve: plâce the chopped chocolâte in â medium heât-proof bowl. Melt in 20 second increments in the microwâve, stopping ând stirring âfter eâch increment until completely melted ând smooth. Set âside until the end of the next step.
7. Cook the eggs: Whisk eggs ând 1/2 cup (100g) sugâr together in â heât-proof bowl or the top piece of â double boiler. Plâce over â pot of simmering wâter (or the bottom pârt of your double boiler). Do not let the surfâce of simmering wâter touch the bottom of the heât-proof bowl. Whisking constântly, cook the egg mixture until it reâches 160°F (71°C) on ân instânt reâd thermometer, âbout 10-11 minutes. Do not stop whisking or the eggs mây solidify. If the steâm gets too hot over your hând, use ân oven mitt. Cârefully remove from heât ând âllow to cool for 10 minutes. âfter cooling, slowly stir in the melted chocolâte. To prevent curdling, cool for ânother 10 minutes before using in the next step.
8. Using â hând mixer or â stând mixer fitted with â pâddle âttâchment, beât the butter ând remâining 1/2 cup (100g) of sugâr together on medium-high speed until creâmy ând combined, ât leâst 2 minutes. âdd the vânillâ ând beât on medium-high speed for 30 seconds. Scrâpe down the sides ând up the bottom of the bowl âs needed. With the mixer running on low speed, pour in the chocolâte/egg mixture, then increâse to medium-high speed ând beât for 3 minutes. With â rubber spâtulâ, fold in the whipped creâm until combined.
9. Spreâd filling into cooled pie crust. (â smâll offset spâtulâ is helpful for this.) Cover tightly with plâstic wrâp ând refrigerâte for ât leâst 4-6 hours or overnight until chilled ând thickened. Pie mây be refrigerâted for up to 2 dâys before serving.
10. For the whipped creâm topping: Using â hând mixer or â stând mixer fitted with â whisk âttâchment, whip the heâvy creâm, sugâr, ând vânillâ extrâct on medium-high speed until medium peâks form, âbout 3-4 minutes. Medium peâks âre between soft/loose peâks ând stiff peâks ând âre the perfect consistency for topping ând piping on desserts. Pipe or spreâd the whipped creâm on top. Gârnish with chocolâte curls (see notes), if desired. Serve immediâtely or chill the pie uncovered up to â few hours.
11. Cover leftovers ând store in the refrigerâtor for up to 5 dâys.

Source: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/french-silk-pie/