By Grey Moorhead
If there’s any one dessert that best captures the essence of my childhood, it’s hands-down French silk pie. Between Thanksgiving dinner and birthday parties, hosted dinners and potlucks, my family was known for our chocolate pie. Truly, what could be better than pie and chocolate at the same time? And with homemade whipped cream on top? Nothing gets better than that.
(And if my mom insisted that I learn how to whip the cream by hand one time too many? Well, all I’ll say about that is there’s a reason I have great biceps.)
Perfecting Pie
To me, any chocolate pie is only as good as the chocolate filling. Sure, the crust can be too dry or flakey, but mousse rarely runs the risk of making a crust too soggy. Even the whipped cream is a solidly neutral add-on. It’s hard to screw up whipped cream, whether made by hand or from a can.
The filling is what really makes the pie a pie. A poor choice in chocolate can ruin the filling, and a good balance can make even the cheapest of chocolates magical. And anything beyond just chocolate?
Here’s how just a little bit of peanut butter turned a classic family dessert into something gone in minutes.
What Goes Inside?
Now, chocolate and peanut butter are one of the most classic combinations known to dessert-kind. Nothing beats it when it comes to warm and sweet flavors. Now this recipe was borne from a happy accident: our filling one day yielded too much to fit in one pie shell, but not enough to fill two to the top. But the jar of peanut butter was just sitting there, taunting.
One hand mixer and a handful of powdered sugar later, and we had a beautiful extra topping to go along with a rich, silky chocolate filling.
There were doubts, of course. Would this truly work out?
Our answer came in the form of an empty pie tin three days later.
It definitely works.
A Gift
After many iterations of the same beautiful French Silk pie, the addition of peanut butter truly makes the pie something special. And out of the spirit of goodness within me, I’m here to share the recipe with you.
Ingredients:
Chocolate Silk
- 5 oz. by weight unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 4 whole eggs
Peanut Butter Silk
- 2 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 2 oz. peanut butter
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 t vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-bake pie shell of your choice based on instructions
- Whip together butter and sugar in a mixer on medium speed. Beat until fluffy, then add chocolate and vanilla extract
- Adding one egg at a time, beat on medium speed until fully combined, beating for 4-5 minutes between each inclusions
- Fill pie shell and chill for at least twenty minutes
- Beat together peanut butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and remaining vanilla extract using a whisk attachment until fluffy.
- Layer the peanut butter filling overtop of the chilled chocolate filling, then chill again for at least half an hour
- Serve with toppings of your choice, and enjoy!
Topping Suggestions:
While a there’s nothing wrong with a plain pie, here are some suggestions to add just a bit more flair to your new favorite dessert:
-Chocolate chips or shavings (or peanut butter chips!!)
-Simple chocolate ganache (melt 4 oz semisweet chocolate and 1 oz heavy cream over stove or in microwave, then spread)
-Whipped cream (homemade or store bought work equally well)
Grey is a senior at Prince William County Schools, graduating soon. This is her first article for Prince William Living, and she hopes to go on to write and publish many more pieces. When she isn’t parked in front of a computer, she enjoys baking and experimenting with strange flavors and unique combinations.
