The first thing I saw this morning was Clarissa from Two Fat Ladies on the Cooking Network make this pie, which is a chocolate/cream pie adapted from an 18th century ‘Hannah Glasse’ recipe. I adapted it further as some of the steps in the online recipe are not detailed enough. But it turned out VERY good, even though I baked the almond crust a bit too long.
FOR THE ALMOND CRUST:
Chocolate Pye....is so good, it's heading to work with Jason tomorrow because if it's here I'll eat it all.
- 6 ounces ground almonds (I processed blanched almonds in a food processor)
- 1 egg white
- 2 ounces organic sugar
FOR THE FILLING:
- 8 ounces plain chocolate, broken up (I used a 70% cacao fair trade dark chocolate)
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
DECORATE WITH:
- Toasted almonds
Process the ground almonds, egg white, and sugar and dump out into a bowl to work with your hands to knead into a ball. On a sugared bread board, roll out to a round large enough to line an 8-inch nonstick pie plate (or buttered glass plate like I did), 1/4-inch thick and refrigerate to dry and chill for 30 minutes. You may need to fill on the holes by pressing almond “dough” with your hands to fill gaps in the pan.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the rested pastry in the plate and decorate the edges with the finger and thumb technique. Line with foil (but no baking beans) and bake blind for 20 to 25 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid scorching- unfortunately I didn’t. Remove crust and leave to cool on the counter.
Chocolate cream
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a bowl set over hot water, then mix in the cream gradually, stirring all the time to prevent splitting. Remove from the heat. Chill in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes and, as the chocolate starts to set, beat the air into the mixture to a fluff. Pour into the cooled crackling crust. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes to set. Serve decorated with toasted almonds.
