Will you serve this with or without chocolate fudge sauce and whipped cream? Posting date is September 11!
Frozen Swiss Chocolate Pie
Author:
Serves: 1 9- inch (23-cm) pie • 10 to 12 servings
Ingredients
- For the Walnut Crust
- 2 cups (200 g) walnuts, toasted (see page 19)
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 3 ounces (¾ stick/85 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- For the Frozen Swiss Chocolate Filling
- 12 ounces (340 g) good quality dark chocolate (60 to 72% cacao), coarsely chopped
- 1½ teaspoons instant espresso powder
- 1 (8-ounce/226-g) package cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons (525 ml) heavy cream
- 2 large egg whites
- ¼ cup (60 ml) whiskey
- ¼ cup (25 g) walnut pieces, toasted (see page 19) and coarsely chopped
Instructions
Make the Walnut Crust
- Lightly spray a 9-inch (23-cm; preferably deep dish) pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a food processor, process the walnuts until they are finely chopped (do not pulverize); you should have about 1½ cups (200 g). Place them in a bowl, add the sugar, and stir until combined. Pour the melted butter over the walnut mixture, mix well, transfer to the prepared pie plate, and press it into the bottom and up the sides; use the back of a large metal measuring cup to get an even crust. If you are having trouble getting it to adhere to the sides, first refrigerate the crust for 5 to 7 minutes. Refrigerate the crust while you make the filling.
Make the Frozen Swiss Chocolate F illing
- Place the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water (double- boiler method, see page 19). Heat the chocolate, stirring occasionally, until it is 80 percent melted. Sprinkle the espresso powder over the chocolate and stir until it is incorporated and the chocolate is just fully melted. Remove the top of the double boiler from the heat and continue to stir the chocolate mixture for another minute to release excess heat. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, ¼ cup (50 g) of the sugar, the vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of the cream on medium speed until the mixture is combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and beat again until just combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again for 10 seconds.
- Place the egg whites and the remaining ¼ cup (50 g) sugar in a clean, heatproof medium bowl and set it over the saucepan of simmering water you used for the chocolate. Gently whisk the whites and sugar until warm to the touch; remove the pan from the heat. Using a handheld whisk or the whisk attachment on the standing mixer, whisk the mixture just until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and set aside.
- In the bowl of the standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the remaining 2 cups (480 ml) cream until soft peaks form. Turn the mixer to low and drizzle in the whiskey, then increase the mixer speed to medium and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the filling until just combined, then pour the filling into the crust. Smooth the top with an offset spatula and sprinkle with the walnuts. Cover gently with foil and place the pie in the freezer until frozen, about 4 hours.
- Before serving, place the pie in the refrigerator for 2 hours or at room temperature for 20 minutes. Dip a large knife in hot water, dry it off, and use the hot knife to slice and serve.
Notes
[i]How to store: [/i]Leftover pie, covered with foil (tented with toothpicks), can be frozen for up to 1 week.
OMG, this is so decadent! :) FYI, I found it helpful to add an extra 50g of walnuts to the crust mixture because it was super liquidy with only 200g. The extra amount soaked up the excess butter which allowed me to press the crust into the pan. (It was sort of a sticky puddle at first.)
Ooooh, thanks for the tip! I’m making mine today. Procrastinator advantage, get good advice from the non-procrastinators. :)
Ha, the one area in my life where I’m (sometimes) not a procrastinator. ;-) Also, the pie took hours to thaw– I didn’t think I could take it to work, but it traveled just fine and was still frozen solid until lunchtime!
I toasted extra walnuts just in case, but my crust was fine with the amount called for in the recipe. I weighed everything instead of measuring by volume.