I haven’t blogged in a month, and with good reason. There’s more on that later but for now, lets talk chocolate. I was given the Mast Brothers cookbook for my birthday and, as much as they may have been surrounded in controversy in December, that doesn’t effect the quality of the book. It is still packed with a great range of chocolate based recipes. From the simple all the way through to the more complex. I wanted to make something that wasn’t just one of their basics, but wasn’t in the mood to properly spend the time tempering chocolate. This left a few intriguing looking recipes, and with the realisation that I’ve not made a proper chocolate tart since last summer, I decided to make their Chocolate Pie with Whipped Cream.
I’ve been quiet for a few of weeks. I’ve garnered quite the backlog in that time as I’ve baked, and photographed, a number of things. There is however, a good reason for why I’ve not been writing. Sadly, my girlfriend’s mother, Maria, passed away a few weeks ago. It was completely out of the blue and a real shock to everyone. She was a much loved woman, and the loss has hit everyone particularly hard. As such I’ve taken some time away from the blog to concentrate on supporting my girlfriend and her family where I can. Tell those you love that you love them, whenever you can, because you don’t know when the last chance to do that may be.
Back to the focus of this post though, and chocolate. Make sure the base is par-baked properly or you could end up with a soggy based pie that won’t cut particularly well. The pie will last a couple of days in the fridge, but remember, it’s covered in fresh cream, so don’t leave it too long.
- **For the crust**
- 250g Plain White Flour
- 65g Cocoa Powder
- 3tbsp White Granulated Sugar
- 225g Unsalted Butter
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 60ml Ice Cold Water
- **For the filling**
- 500ml Whole Milk
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 1 Egg
- 200g Sugar
- 30g Cornflour
- 2Tbsp Cocoa Powder
- 2Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 50g Dark Chocolate
- **For the cream**
- 375ml Heavy Cream
- 3Tbsp White Granulated Sugar
- Dark Chocolate, grated, to finish
- **For the crust**
- Preheat the oven to 180°C(160°C fan assisted).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix in the flour, cocoa, sugar and butter until flaky, pulsing.
- Add the yolks and ice water and quickly mix until it becomes dough.
- Turn out onto a work surface and gently knead until it becomes smooth. Don't over-knead as you don't want to incorporate too much air in the mixture.
- Wrap in cling film and allow to chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.
- Roll out until it will cover the base of a standard pie dish.
- Gently transfer to the dish, cover with grease proof paper and fill with baking beans. Place in the center of the pre-heated oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
- **For the filling**
- In a medium sized saucepan, bring the milk to the boil.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer (or using a hand whisk), beat together the egg yolks, eggs and half of the sugar until it's fluffy.
- Add the cornflour, cocoa powder and remaining sugar and mix to combine.
- Add this to the hot milk mixture and simmer until it thickens.
- Stir in the butter and chocolate and keep stirring until smooth.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Once cooled, spread the mixture over the pie crust.
- Beat the sugar with the whipped cream until it forms soft peaks, spread over the top of the pie. Grate the chocolate over if using. Serve.