French Silk Pie with Frangelico~

 
Besides the classic pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, it's become a tradition at our house to serve French Silk.  When I spotted a Frangelico version on my friend Claudia's blog, I knew this would be a must on our holiday table this year. Be sure to drop by and see all of Claudia's amazing recipes...you won't be disappointed.

I had to tweak this recipe just a bit.  When I mentioned the graham cracker crust, which I adore, to hubby, I got that look. OK, how about a chocolate cookie crust? He was fine with that.  And instead of sprinkling the Frangelico over the crust as Claudia did, I mixed it into the filling for a subtle hazelnut infusion.

And as garnishing is imperative for a holiday dessert, I wanted to make something other than my usual chocolate curls to top this pie...a simple chocolate lattice or filigree.  Without the time to temper chocolate properly, I went with Wilton's Light Cocoa Wafer Melts instead. Melting a handful or so in the microwave, I then scraped these into a quart ziplock bag, clipped a corner and piped squiggles onto a sheet of parchment paper.  Once cooled, they're ready to go. Not exactly gourmet chocolate, but perfect when time is tight.  As for the verdict, well, the French silk was the first to disappear...that says it all.

French Silk Pie with Frangelico...adapted from What's Cookin' Italian Style

24 Nabisco famous wafers, processed to crumbs (Oreos may be substituted, just eliminate the sugar)

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 tablespoon sugar

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon Frangelico

1/3 cup butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1/2 cup whipping cream

2 teaspoons powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate curls or chocolate swirls to garnish

Preheat oven to 350º. Combine chocolate wafer crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Pat into a 9 inch pie plate.  Bake 8-10 minutes.  Cool. 

In a small saucepan, whisk eggs and sugar.  Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, till mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Remove from heat and stir in melted chocolate, vanilla and Frangelico.  Set aside.

In a stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment, beat butter till light and creamy.  Add cooled chocolate mixture and beat for about 5 minutes, till light and fluffy.

In another bowl, whip 2/3 cup heavy cream with 1 tablespoon powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.  Fold into chocolate mixture.  Pour into cooled crust.  Chill at least 6 hours before serving.  Garnish with dollops of sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings or swirls if desired.

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