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Recipe Detail Page
Chocolate Spiderweb Chocolate Cream Pie
Autumn 2008
A dramatic (but easy-to-create) spiderweb turns a silky smooth chocolate cream pie into the extraordinary. You can substitute a chocolate crumb crust or a pre-made pie shell for a shortcut if you prefer. Just don’t skip the step of painting the crust with dark chocolate since it prevents the cream filling from soaking in and keeps the crust crispy. There are a lot of steps but it’s actually quite an easy dessert to make and can be ready and waiting in the fridge well before the festivities begin.
Serves 6 to 8
Pie Shell
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (50 mL) unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tbsp (45 mL) granulated sugar
¼ cup (50 mL) cold butter, cubed
2 tbsp (25 mL) cold shortening, cubed
1 tbsp (15 mL) balsamic or cider vinegar
3 tbsp (45 mL) cold water
Filling
1¾ cups (425 mL) milk
¼ cup (50 mL) unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup (50 mL) granulated sugar
2 tbsp (25 mL) cornstarch
3 egg yolks
6 oz (175 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla
Pinch of salt
½ oz (15 g) white chocolate, chopped, about 2 tbsp (25 mL)
½ cup (125 mL) whipping cream
1. For the pie shell, sift flour, cocoa and sugar into a bowl. Cut in butter and shortening with a pastry blender or 2 knives until crumbly. Sprinkle with vinegar. Drizzle in enough cold water and stir with a fork just until dough comes together. Squeeze into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or for up to 2 days.
2. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured board or between pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap to about ⅛-inch (3-mm) thickness and fit into a 9-inch (23-cm) metal pie plate. Trim and flute edge. Prick all over with a fork. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC).
4. Line the pie shell with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights, rice or dried beans. Bake in bottom third of oven until edges start to look dry, about 20 minutes. Remove paper and weights and bake, pressing down lightly with a scrunched paper towel if it starts to puff, for about 10 minutes longer or until pastry is dry and firm. Let cool completely.
5. For the filling, heat 1¼ cups (300 mL) of the milk in a small heavy saucepan, stirring often, over medium heat just until steaming and bubbles form around the edge. Whisk cocoa, sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks and remaining milk in a bowl. Slowly drizzle in about half of the hot milk, whisking constantly. Whisk back into saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes or until thick and it just starts to bubble. Remove from heat and stir in 3 oz (90 g) of the bittersweet chocolate, the vanilla and salt. Pour into a clean bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
6. Melt remaining bittersweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of hot, not boiling water, stirring until smooth. Pour all but about 1 tbsp (15 mL) into cooled pie shell and brush inside of shell. Refrigerate until chilled, about 15 minutes. Set aside remaining bittersweet chocolate at room temperature.
7. Combine white chocolate and 1 tsp (5 mL) of the whipping cream in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Whip remaining cream in a chilled bowl until firm peaks. Fold into chocolate filling just until blended. Spread into pie shell, smoothing top. Set aside.
8. Place bowl of white chocolate over a saucepan of hot, not boiling water and melt, stirring until smooth. Spoon into a small piping bag fitted with a small round tip (or into a parchment paper cone and cut a small hole in the cone; or into a small plastic bag, cutting a small hole in 1 corner of the bag). Pipe a spiral on top of chocolate filling starting at the centre of the pie all the way out to the edge, making lines about ½ inch (1 cm) apart. Drag the tip of a knife or a toothpick through lines starting from the centre out toward the edge at 12 evenly spaced intervals, creating a spider web effect.
9. Re-melt reserved bittersweet chocolate, if necessary, and spoon into a small parchment paper cone and cut a small hole in the cone (or into small plastic bag, cutting a hole in 1 corner of the bag). Pipe several mounded circles of chocolate for spider bodies on the web, each about ¾-inch (2-cm) in diameter, and pipe 8 legs onto each body. Refrigerate pie for at least 2 hours or until filling is set or cover loosely and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Cut with a knife dipped in warm water and dried between each slice.
Serves 6 to 8
