Pie and Pastry Bible (51 page)

BLACK FOREST CHIFFON PIE

I
created this pie for
Cook’s
magazine several years ago and received lots of enthusiastic feedback. Who wouldn’t love brandied burgundy cherries suspended in a chocolate Bavarian filling, topped with ganache, and encased in a bittersweet chocolate cookie crust?

EQUIPMENT

A 9-inch pie pan; optional: a pastry bag or a reclosable quart-size freezer bag (with coupler) and a number 22 star piping tip

SERVES: 8
INGREDIENTS	MEASURE	WEIGHT
	VOLUME	OUNCES	GRAMS
*Preferably Tahitian, or ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
Chocolate Crumb Crust (or Deluxe Chocolate Wafer) for a 9-inch pie (page 67 or 70), pressed into the pan and chilled		•	•
Brandied Cherries (page 594)	2 cups	12 ounces	340 grams
Chocolate Chiffon fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, grated	of a 3-ounce bar	2 ounces	56 grams
sugar	½ cup, divided	3.5 ounces	100 grams
½ vanilla bean,* split lengthwise and scraped (seeds reserved)	•	•	•
salt	a pinch	•	•
gelatin	1½ teaspoons	•	5 grams
3 large egg yolks	3½ tablespoons	2 ounces	56 grams
milk	1 liquid cup	8.5 ounces	242 grams
heavy cream	liquid cup	5.5 ounces	153 grams
1 large egg white	2 tablespoons	1 ounce	30 grams
cream of tartar	teaspoon	•	•
optional: kirsch	4 teaspoons	0.6 ounce	19 grams
Glaze fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, grated	2 3-ounce bars, divided	7 ounces	200 grams
heavy cream	½ liquid cup + 2 tablespoons	approx. 5 ounces	145 grams
corn syrup	approx. 1 tablespoon	0.7 ounce	20 grams

Make the crust (page 67 or 70). Press it into the pan (see page 69 or 72) and chill it.

Drain the cherries well on paper towels. Reserve 6 of the most attractive ones for the garnish and place the remaining cherries evenly in the bottom of the pie crust. Cover and refrigerate the pie shell and reserved cherries.

MAKE THE CUSTARD FILLING

Chill a small bowl for the whipped cream.

Place the grated chocolate in a large bowl and set a strainer over it.

In a small heavy nonreactive saucepan, place ½ cup of the sugar and the vanilla bean and, using your fingers, rub the seeds into the sugar. Stir in the salt, gelatin, and yolks until well combined.

Scald the milk.
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Stir in 2 tablespoons of the sugar, then stir a few tablespoons of milk into the yolk mixture; then gradually add the remainder, stirring constantly. Heat the mixture, stirring constantly, to just before the boiling point (170° to 180°F.). Steam will begin to appear and the mixture will be slightly thicker than heavy cream. It will leave a well-defined track when a finger is run across the back of the spoon. Immediately remove it from the heat and pour it into the strainer, scraping up the thickened custard that has settled on the bottom of the pan. (Rinse and dry the bean for future use.) Whisk until the chocolate has melted completely and the mixture is uniform in color. (If the vanilla bean was not used, stir in the vanilla extract.) Set it aside.

In the chilled bowl, beat the heavy cream until it mounds softly when dropped from a spoon. Chill.

A MAXIMUM OF 20 MINUTES BEFORE USING IT, MAKE THE MERINGUE

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg white until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form when the beater is raised slowly. Gradually beat in the remaining 2 tablespoons of the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised slowly. Set the meringue aside.

Chill the chocolate custard by placing the bowl in a bowl of ice water sprinkled with a tablespoon of salt added to speed chilling. Stir for the first 10 minutes and then slowly but constantly for about 5 minutes longer. (If you prefer, you can refrigerate the mixture, stirring occasionally for the first 10 minutes and then every few minutes.) When a small amount dropped from the spoon mounds very slightly on the surface before disappearing, immediately remove the bowl from the ice-water bath and whisk in the optional Kirsch. Continuing with the whisk, fold in the meringue and then the whipped cream just until incorporated. Finish
by using a rubber spatula to reach to the bottom. (You will have 4 cups of filling.) Pour the filling at once into the prepared pie crust (it will come almost to the top) and refrigerate, uncovered (as plastic wrap will stick to the surface), for at least 2 hours before glazing, so that the surface has set firmly. (The pie needs to be refrigerated for at least 6 hours before serving.)

MAKE THE GLAZE

Place 6 ounces of the grated chocolate in a small heavy saucepan with a lid. Place the cream in a small saucepan, or a heatproof glass measure if using a microwave, and bring it to the boiling point. Pour it over the chocolate, cover it tightly, and allow it to rest for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate. Gently stir the mixture together until uniform in color, trying not to create air bubbles. If necessary, heat it slightly, stirring. Pass the glaze through a fine strainer and allow it to cool until just tepid. There will be about 1 cup of glaze.

Pour about half of the glaze onto the pie, tilting it quickly to spread the glaze evenly before it sets. (You can also use a long metal spatula to spread the glaze.) Refrigerate the pie for at least 1 hour until the glaze is set, or until shortly before serving before decorating it.

DECORATE THE PIE

Melt the remaining 1 ounce of chocolate and stir it into the remaining glaze. Set the glaze over ice and stir gently until it is thick enough for piping. (Do not beat the glaze, or it will lighten in color.)

Fill the pastry bag fitted with the decorating tip with the glaze and pipe a border around the edge of the crust and a decorative design on top. If the glaze starts to become too soft to pipe well, chill your hands on the ice.

Brush the reserved cherries with the corn syrup and arrange them on top of the pie. Pipe decorative leaf shapes around the cherries. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to set.

To serve: The pie can be unmolded, if desired. Wipe the bottom and sides of the pan with a dish towel that has been dipped in very hot water and wrung out, or lower the pie carefully into a bowl of hot water. For attractive slices, cut with a sharp thin-bladed knife that has been dipped in hot water and wiped dry between each slice. Support the rim of the pie with one hand while cutting.

STORE

Refrigerated, 3 to 4 days; frozen, up to 3 weeks.

UNDERSTANDING

This custard filling takes less time to set than other chiffon fillings because of the addition of chocolate.

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Use a small saucepan, or a heatproof glass measure if using a microwave on high power, and heat until small bubbles form around the perimeter.

MERINGUE PIES AND TARTS

P
eople seem either to love or hate pies and tarts topped with meringue. Those who love meringue enjoy the airy delicate foam that contrasts with the denser, creamy filling and crisp crust beneath. Those who hate it generally object to the sweetness. Meringue, however, does not have to be cloyingly sweet. Even a plain white meringue, made with only egg white and sugar, does not require as high an amount of sugar for stability as one often encounters. In fact, a high proportion of sugar weights it down, making it less airy.

A judicious amount of sweetness, however, is an excellent contrast to a tart filling, as in the Lemon Meringue Pie or “Key Lime” Pie. Folding the meringue into the lemon filling, as in the Pucker Pie, blends the sweet/tartness ahead of eating it and also offers a delightfully fluffy texture.

For a meringue tart where the meringue is not predominantly sweet at all, choose the Aurora Blood Orange Tart with its speckled meringue topping. The unsweetened chocolate folded into the meringue completely balances the sugar. Or try the Bisou, an orange curd tart topped with cocoa meringue piped as kisses, drizzled with bittersweet chocolate. The same cocoa meringue, when baked until crisp and broken into pieces resembling small boulders, achieves a totally different effect as a light crunchy topping for the Grand Canyon Pie.