It's been more than six months since I have safely traveled anywhere. Restlessness has set in. Yes, I know traveling anywhere these days is somewhat of a luxury, all things considered. But now that I am fully vaccinated (a significant accomplishment for my flu-shot avoidance self), I have planned two trips, one in mid-April with the other in mid to late May. The first trip will be a three day stay up in Door County, Wisconsin with (yes, vaccinated) friends. But rather than stay in a familiar, but larger resort in Egg Harbor, we are renting a condo overlooking the Bay in Sister Bay this time. While it will be too early to see or photograph the cherry blossoms, the spring landscape should be beautiful. The second adventure will be an almost week long solo stay in one of my happy places, Boulder, Colorado. Ever since spending a glorious birthday week there in September I have longed to return to the house at the base of the Front Range sooner rather than later. The mountains have been calling to me. Hiking on snow covered trails up in Rocky Mountain National Park should be quite the experience! Although I am praying for a mild heat wave to arrive in Colorado in either late April or at the beginning of May so some of their record setting snowfall can begin melting. It would be nice to see snow but even nice to not have to hike on icy trails. But regardless of the trail conditions, I can hardly wait to spend time in the mountains.
In some ways this French Silk Tart topped mounds of sweetened whipped cream and studded with chocolate shards reminds me of snow capped mountains. Having a rather active imagination, the sights, aromas, and tastes of foods sometimes have a way of transporting me back to places I have been, back to places I love.
Growing up in the flatlands of the midwest, it would be a treat to make a trip to Bakers' Square for a piece of their decadent French Silk Pie. And you always crossed your fingers this pie wouldn't be sold out by the time you got there.
If you do a search for French Silk Pie you will find there are a significant number of recipes out there. Most of them claiming to be exactly like or a copy cat version of the iconic one from Bakers' Square. But with ingredients and techniques varying somewhat significantly in many of these recipes, it might be difficult to discern which one is actually the French Silk Pie Holy Grail. So I am not going to tell you this is the one. But I am going to tell you this French Silk Tart is as chocolaty, as decadent, as addictive, as tempting, and as mouthwatering delicious. Maybe it's even better than the one inspiring its' name, but that would be for you to decide.
Some might think it a bit sacrilegious to make a luscious, decadent, homemade French Silk Tart using a refrigerated pie crust rather than a crust made from scratch. I don't subscribe to that way of thinking. Besides, if there is a way to make a recipe just a little bit easier without sacrificing flavor, I'm all for it. However, if you are a master of pie dough, go ahead and make your own buttery crust. But. if you are like me, make the tart shell using a good quality refrigerated crust. However, don't bake it according to package directions. The tart shell should first be blind baked for 12-14 minutes, then pricked with a fork and brushed with an egg wash before going back into the oven for another 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Brushing the tart shell with the egg wash not only gives it a beautiful color, it helps to seal the crust from getting too soggy after the french silk filling goes in.
Some French Silk Pie recipes call for using cooked eggs, some for using raw eggs. This rendition is a raw egg recipe. While there is very little risk to eating a dessert made with raw eggs these days, you can always use pasteurized eggs to reduce that risk even further if you have any concerns. To make the filling, cold from the refrigerator eggs are whipped into the sugar/butter mixture one at a time. Each egg is whipped for five minutes. So keep your eggs in the refrigerator until you are ready to each one. The total whipping time for the four eggs will be twenty minutes. Yes, that's alot of whipping!
Lightly sweetened whipped cream can be dolloped on top of the filling or piped on using a pastry bag. And instead of making chocolate shards, you could easily make chocolate curls using a vegetable peeler and a semi-sweet bar of chocolate.
Allowing the French Silk Tart to chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight is essential to further developing its' decadent chocolate flavor. While this French Silk Tart is more dense than cloud-like, it is nothing short of heavenly.
If you are looking for a show stopping, ambrosial, irresistible dessert to serve for Easter, make this French Silk Tart to bring some joy to this not yet completely normal holiday celebration! And, if by chance, any of your chocolate loving friends and family grew up eating the Bakers' Square French Silk Pie, they just might declare this French Silk Tart to be the richest, best version ever!
Recipe
French Silk Tart
Serves 8-12, depending on how you slice it
Ingredients
Pie Crust
1 refrigerated pie crust (I used Pillsbury) or one recipe for a homemade pie crust
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon milk
French Silk Filling
1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons to 1 Tablespoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
8 ounces (227g) good quality bittersweet chocolate (60% cocao), melted and cooled. See notes.
4 large eggs, cold
Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2-3 Tablespoons confectionary sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Chocolate Shards
4 ounces of semisweet or dark chocolate, melted and cooled (See notes)
Directions
Pie/Tart Crust
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (F). Whisk together the large egg and tablespoon of milk. Set aside.
2. Place a single pie crust into the 9 inch (2 inch high) tart pan with removable bottom. Place tart pan on a large baking sheet.
3. Line the bottom and the sides of tart pan with piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper. Fill with pie weights or dried beans.
4. Place in the oven and bake for 13-14 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully remove the foil/paper and beans/weights.
5. Using a fork, prick the bottom of the crust (to prevent bubbles) and brush with the egg/milk mixture. Return to the oven and continue baking for 12-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
6. Remove from the oven and let the tart shell cool completely. When cool, transfer the baked tart shell to a serving platter.
French Silk Filling
1. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add in the butter, sugar, Kosher salt, and vanilla. Beat until light and creamy (approximately 3 minutes) scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
2. Add in the cooled melted chocolate and beat until blended in.
3. Remove eggs from the refrigerator one at a time. Crack an egg into the bowl and beat for 5 minutes. Repeat for each of the three remaining eggs, making certain to beat each egg for 5 minutes.
4. Spoon filling into the cooled tart shell. Smooth top of the filling. Return to the refrigerator while making the whipped cream.
Whipped Cream
1. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, confectionary sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
2. Use a spoon to dollop and spread the whipped cream on top of the french silk filling layer OR place the whipped cream in a large pastry bag fitted with the pastry tip of your choice and create the design of your choice. Return to the refrigerator while you make the chocolate shards.
Chocolate Shards
1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a bowl over simmering water.
2. Spread the melted chocolate into a thin layer on the bottom of a clean, large baking sheet. Place baking sheet in the refrigerator to let chocolate set up or let chocolate set up on its' own. Chilling it just makes things go a little more quickly.
3. Use a bench scraper or putty knife to scrape up the chocolate. Then break the pieces into shards. Alternately, spread the melted chocolate on a large piece of parchment paper and let set up. You can just peel the chocolate off the paper and break into shards.
4. Place the chocolate shards into the filling in the design of your choice.
5. Instead of melting chocolate to make shards, can use a vegetable peeler on a bar of chocolate to create chocolate curls.
Notes: (1) Use a chocolate bar for both the tart filling and to make the shards. Do not use chocolate chips. I used Ghiradelli Bittersweet (60% cocao) bars. (2) If using a homemade pie crust, bake as directed above. (3) This recipe inspired by multiple sources but this version is all mine. (4) I used a tart pan with a removable bottom, but if you don't have one you could always use a pie plate.
DuPage River at the Four Rivers Environmental Center, Channahon, IL (March 2021)
