I first tasted French Silk Pie at a Bob Evan's restaurant when I was a kid. I can't quite remember if it was a picture of the pie on the menu or an actual pie in a case that I saw, but I knew I wanted to try it. My sisters weren't interested, but as soon as it came, they wouldn't stop "tasting" it and my dad ended up ordering a second slice.
Most chocolate pie I see is chocolate cream pie and has a sort of custardy/pudding filling, which is okay, but not for me. French silk pie is filled with light, creamy, and, well, silky chocolate filling and one of the only pies I like.
Recently I woke up with a craving for French silk pie, but no idea where to get a slice around here. I decided to make one for myself. After comparing several online recipes, I decided to go with Jean Webster's French Silk Pie from Martha Stewart's website. Delicious! Exactly what I was craving!
I also learned a few things:
- You can buy pasteurized eggs or make them yourself if you are serving it to young, elderly, or pregnant folk, or if you are leary of raw egg in your food. I used some store bought pasteurized eggs, and while the pie tasted fabulous, I think it may be the reason it wasn't as light and fluffy as it could have been.
- Sweetened whipped cream is called Chantilly Cream.
One question I have: How do you make whipped cream (or Chantilly Cream) that lasts more than a few hours? Unless you know the trick to this, or are eating the whole pie at once, I recommend serving the whipped cream separately and whipping up a separate batch when having leftovers. I topped the pie last night and this morning my cream was starting to 'melt.' (Yes it was in the refrigerator!)
