Secret Recipe Club: French Silk Pie

My partner for this month's Secret Recipe Club was Kate of Kitchen Trial and Error.  When I first explored her blog this month, I picked out her recipe for blueberry muffins to make.  As you might be able to tell from the title of this blog, I love muffins!  And, I thought Kate's idea of making a blueberry jam to swirl into the batter sounded delicious.  But...then I got to the grocery and couldn't find any good blueberries...the fresh ones just didn't look very fresh (and, of course, they're nowhere near in season), and the frozen berries were crazy expensive.  Time for a Plan B.  Luckily, while I was poking around in the freezer case looking at blueberries, my boyfriend spotted a French Silk Pie in the next case over.  We didn't buy the frozen version, but it gave me the idea to see if Kate had a recipe for the pie on her blog.  As it turned out, she did -- and this pie is so much better than anything you could get at the store!  It's definitely a labor of love, with lots of mixing in a double boiler over a hot stove, but the results are more than worth it.  The filling is rich, creamy, and almost fluffy, with absolutely amazing chocolate flavor.  You can use a store-bought crust to make your job a little easier (I did!), or click through to Kate's recipe to go 100% homemade.  Either way, definitely top each slice of pie with lightly sweetened, lightly whipped cream.  I guarantee you'll be in dessert heaven!

French Silk Pie (adapted from Kitchen Trial and Error, original recipe here)

1 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 T water
8 ounces bittersween chocolate, melted and cooled
1 T vanilla
8 T unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature
1 prepared pie crust (I used a graham cracker crust)
Lightly sweetened whipped cream, to serve

1. Whip the cream into stiff peaks, and then cover and stash in the fridge while you make the rest of the filling.
2. Set up a double boiler (or set a large bowl over simmering water).  Make sure there is enough room for the eggs, sugar, and water to at least triple, as they will expand as you cook and beat them.  Once the double boiler is set up and the water is simmering, add the eggs, sugar, and water to the top part.  Use an electric mixer to beat the mixture continuously for about 10 minutes, until the mixture registers 160 degrees.  Remove the bowl from the double boiler, and beat the mixture for another 10 minutes, until it is fluffy and at room temperature (a stand mixer will save your arm in this case!)
3. Add the chocolate and vanilla to the egg mixture, and beat until well combined.  With the mixture running, add the butter a piece at a time, until it is fully incorporated and no lumps of butter remain.
4. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the reserved whipped cream into the chocolate mixture.  Spoon into the pie shell.  If you used a store bought graham cracker crust, you might have extra -- I did, and I just stashed it in the fridge separately to eat like chocolate mousse!  Cover the pie, pressing a piece of plastic wrap down onto the top to prevent a skin from forming.  Chill at least 3 hours, and then slice and serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.