Mocha Silk Pie

I bake a lot. Like a crazy inhuman, no college student should have the time for, lot. Some people do yoga, or CrossFit…I bake 72 cookies. It relaxes me. It is the equalizer in my life. It is the reason I do not crack under pressure. Baking is my solace.

In the mound of recipes I have filed and printed and saved, I often bake one thing and forget about it. This recipe fell victim to that cycle.

Flashback a few weeks. It was the SuperBowl and a snowstorm in Chicago. I was extremely extremely angry that my Dominos was never delivered and I was on edge. Major edge. Then classes for Monday got cancelled! Woohoo! Still wanted Dominos, but classes being cancelled was enough. So Monday came and I was productive, which was shocking in itself. Who takes a snow day to get work done and not watch Netflix for 15 straight hours? I was at a coffee shop a stop away from my apartment and I started thinking about this pie.

This pie, to be exact. First off, can we take a minute to appreciate the contrast in the two photos?

Holy Gilly, you have improved vastly. This pie is noted as a Mocha Silk Pie with a Walnut Crust. When I was at the coffee shop, sipping on a latte, I thought about this pie.

One thing all my friends are aware of is that I have a deeply rooted addiction to two things: sugar and coffee. I am a coffee addict. I love every being of coffee. And I happen to love mocha flavored things! When I started thinking about this pie, I was thinking about its soft, smooth texture. It’s crunchy crust that made my taste buds happy. I thought about the whipped cream I topped with it. And then I remembered I was in a coffee shop and had to stop crying from thinking about it.

So, I rushed home to make this pie, with a few modifications.

The recipe hails from the ever-so-great Pioneer Woman. One thing she does note on her site and I will on mine, this recipe does contain raw eggs. Personally, I could care less, as I eat raw egg quite often with dough. If it bothers you, skip this one, no biggie. Another note, this recipe works best with a KitchenAid stand mixture. I honestly have not tested it with a hand-mixer.

If it doesn’t, here it is. First you start with the crust. In my recipe, I added and changed a few measurements, which are included below. If you want to follow the Pioneer Woman’s to a T, the link is attached. The crust is so simple it should be illegal. Chop 1 cup of pecans. If you have a food processor, pulse the pecans on a low setting. Grate 2 ounces of semi-sweet or dark chocolate. I usually buy those pound plus bars from Trader Joes and grate three of them. It’s plenty. In a medium bowl, begin to add the pecans, the chocolate, brown sugar and salt. I also added ¼ cup of graham cracker crust, because I love it. Mix the dry ingredients together with a fork and then drizzle with Kahlua to make a crust adhesive. If you don’t want to use Kahlua, brew some coffee and use that instead.

Press the mixture into a pie pan, making sure to get it up on the sides…and that’s it. No baking, no fussing, just pop it into the fridge and leave it there.

Now, for the filling. First start by melting 3 ounces of dark or semi-sweet chocolate in a small bowl, either in the microwave or using a double boiler. Once melted, set aside to cool. This recipe calls for softened salted butter, which I recommend using. Using the whisk attachment on your KitchenAid stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, instant coffee and Kahlua (or brewed coffee) on a medium-high speed, until it’s nice and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Turn the speed to a medium and drizzle in the melted chocolate. Once mixed, add the vanilla. Beat thoroughly.

Next, scrape down the bowl, and add one egg. Do not add the eggs at the same time. Add one egg and allow it to beat in the mixture for 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining 3 eggs…this process should take 20 minutes. Trust me, this goes by quickly. You’ll be fascinated how your mixture is becoming fluffy and soft with every minute passing. I suggest scraping the bowl after the second egg is thoroughly mixed.

Once the filling is properly mixed, pour into the pie crust. Smooth the filling with your rubber spatula and pop it into the fridge for at least 2 hours, more is preferred. It’s worth the wait.

Once set, grate some chocolate and serve with whipped cream.

Don’t take my word for it, bake it yourself!

Mocha Silk Pie

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Crust

• 1 cup Pecans, Finely Chopped
• 1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar
• ¼ cup graham crackers, chopped
• 2 ounces, weight Semi-Sweet Chocolate Grated
• 2 Tablespoons Kahlua or brewed coffee
• Dash of Salt

 Filling

• 2 sticks Butter (salted)
• 1-1/2 cup Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Instant Coffee Granules
• 1 teaspoon Kahlua or brewed coffee
• 3 ounces, weight Semi-sweet (or Bittersweet) Chocolate
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 4 whole Large Eggs

Instructions

1. To make the crust, combine chopped pecans, brown sugar, graham crackers, grated chocolate, and salt. Stir with a fork to combine, then drizzle in Kahlua, stirring until combined. Press mixture into a pie pan, bringing it up the sides a bit. *Do not bake* Set aside or refrigerate until needed.
2. In small microwave safe bowl, melt 3 ounces of dark or semi-sweet chocolate until stirrable (about 45 seconds on high). Set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter, sugar, 2 teaspoons instant coffee, and 1 teaspoon Kahlua until fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. When melted chocolate is cooled, drizzle it into the butter/sugar mixture as it beats on medium speed; use a rubber spatula to get it all out. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Beat the mixture thoroughly until combined, scraping the sides if necessary.
4. On medium speed, add the four eggs, one at a time, over a period of 20 minutes; leave about 5 minutes between each egg addition. Scrape sides of bowl halfway through this process. Pour filling into the pie crust. You might have a little filling leftover. If you do, I'll trust you to do the right thing.
5. Smooth out the pie filling and place pie in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours (preferably longer).
6. Serve with whipped cream and more grated chocolate.