Chocolate Fudge Pie

 

 

Serves 8| Hands-On Time: 20m| Total Time: 4hr 00m

Ingredients

• Basic Flaky Piecrust
• or 1 store-bought piecrust, fitted into a 9-inch pie plate
• 6  ounces  semisweet chocolate, chopped, plus more shaved for topping
• 1/2  cup  unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 3  large eggs
• 1/8  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/2  cup  plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 1/2  cups  heavy cream

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375º F. Place the pie plate on a baking sheet. Prick crust with a fork and line with foil. Fill to top with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the edges are firm, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake until just golden, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 325º F. In a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs, salt, and ½ cup of the sugar until fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Fold a third of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remainder.
4. Pour the combined mixture into the crust and bake until puffed and beginning to crack, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for 1 hour, then chill.
5. Beat the cream with the remaining sugar until soft peaks form. Spread over the pie and sprinkle with the shaved chocolate.

Quick Tip

 

The pie can be prepared without the toppings and refrigerated, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days. Top it with the whipped cream and shaved chocolate and refrigerate uncov- ered for up to 6 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving.

 

Nutritional Information

• Per Serving

• Calories 599

• Fat 43g
• Sat Fat 26g
• Cholesterol 180mg
• Sodium 191mg
• Protein 7g
• Carbohydrate 51mg
• Fiber 1g

 http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chocolate-fudge-pie-recipe-00000000022645/index.html

Basic Flaky Piecrust

 

 

Makes one 9-inch piecrust| Hands-On Time: 10m| Total Time: 1hr 40m

Ingredients

• 1 1/4  cups  all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for rolling the dough
• 1/2  cup  cold unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into small pieces
• 1  tablespoon  sugar
• 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 3 to 4  tablespoons  ice water

Directions

1. In a food processor, pulse the flour, butter, sugar, and salt until the mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pea-size clumps of butter remaining.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of the water. Pulse until the mixture holds together when squeezed but is still crumbly (add more water, a little at a time, as necessary). Avoid overprocessing, which will make the dough tough.
3. Place the still crumbly mixture on a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape it into a 1-inch-thick disk, using the plastic wrap to help. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. (The dough can be frozen at this point for up to 2 months.)
4. Place the disk of dough on a floured piece of parchment or wax paper. Using your knuckles, make indentations around the perimeter of the dough (this will help prevent cracking when you roll the dough out).
5. With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12-inch circle (work from the center outward, and use the parchment to rotate the dough). Flour the rolling pin, parchment, and dough as necessary to prevent sticking.
6. Loosen the dough from the parchment and carefully transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Fit the dough into the plate (avoid stretching). Trim the dough to a 1-inch over-hang and tuck it under itself to create a thick rim.
7. With the index finger of one hand, press the dough against the thumb and fore-finger of the opposite hand; continue around the perimeter of the crust. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days before using.
8. See step-by-step photos of how to make piecrust.
9. How to parbake and prebake a piecrust: Line the chilled crust with a piece of foil, leaving an overhang all around. Fill with dried beans or pie weights and bake at 350° F for 30 minutes. Remove the beans and foil. For a parbaked (partially baked) crust, bake until dry and set, 5 to 8 minutes more. For a prebaked crust, bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes more. Let the crust cool completely before filling.

Quick Tip

 

When baking a fruit pie, put a foil-lined baking sheet on the bottom of the oven to catch bubbling juices.

 

Nutritional Information

• Per Serving

• Calories 178

• Fat 12g
• Sat Fat 7g
• Cholesterol 30mg
• Sodium 122mg
• Protein 2g
• Carbohydrate 16g
• Sugar 2g
• Fiber 1g
• Iron 1mg
• Calcium 6mg

 http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/basic-flaky-piecrust-recipe-00000000022710/index.html

How To: Make Your Own Piecrust

Easy enough for first-timers, this surprisingly simple tutorial will make even the most reluctant bakers into believers. This recipe makes one 9-inch piecrust with just 10 minutes of hands-on time (total time: 1 hour, 40 minutes). 

What You Need

1¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for rolling the dough; ½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces; 1 tablespoon sugar; ½ teaspoon kosher salt; 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Follow These Seven Easy Steps

1- Cut the butter into the dry ingredients

In a food processor, pulse the flour, butter, sugar, and salt until the mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pea-size clumps of butter remaining.

2- Add water

Add 2 tablespoons of the water. Pulse until the mixture holds together when squeezed but is still crumbly (add more water, a little at a time, as necessary). Avoid overprocessing, which will make the dough tough. 

3- Chill the dough

Place the still crumbly mixture on a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape it into a 1-inch-thick disk, using the plastic wrap to help. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. (The dough can be frozen at this point for up to 2 months.) 

4-Soften the edges of the dough

Place the disk of dough on a floured piece of parchment or wax paper. Using your knuckles, make indentations around the perimeter of the dough (this will help prevent cracking when you roll the dough out). 

5-Roll out the dough

With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into an 12-inch circle (work from the center outward, and use the parchment to rotate the dough). Flour the rolling pin, parchment, and dough as necessary to prevent sticking. 

6-Fit the dough into a pie plate

Loosen the dough from the parchment and carefully transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Fit the dough into the plate (avoid stretching). Trim the dough to a 1-inch overhang and tuck it under itself to create a thick rim. 

7-Crimp the rim

With the index finger of one hand, press the dough against the thumb and forefinger of the opposite hand; continue around the perimeter of the crust. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days before using.

 http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/cooking-tips-techniques/baking/how-to-make-your-own-piecrust-00000000022711/index.html

 

Chocolate

The Aztec king Montezuma believed chocolate to be an aphrodisiac (perhaps explaining its popularity on Valentine’s Day). With its antioxidants, a bit of dark chocolate may even be literally good for your heart.

• How to Choose Chocolate
  
  Chocolate should be evenly colored and slightly shiny. A light powdery coating means the chocolate is old or has not been stored properly. Good chocolate should break cleanly, not crumble or splinter. White chocolate is not true chocolate; it contains cocoa butter but none of the chocolate liquor the other chocolates have. The percentage on chocolate's packaging tells you how much of it was derived from the cacao bean (in the form of chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, and cocoa powder). Generally, the higher the percentage, the more intense the chocolate flavor.
  
  How to Store Chocolate
  
  All chocolate should be stored wrapped in a cool, dry place. Dark chocolate can last up to 10 years, but milk chocolate and white chocolate (because they contain milk solids) keep no longer than 9 months.
  
  How to Prepare Chocolate
  
  To melt a block of chocolate, chop it with a chef's knife, place in a heatproof bowl, and set the bowl over a pot with about an inch of simmering water. Stir the chocolate occasionally; remove the bowl from the pan when just a few small chunks remain (the residual heat will melt it). 
  
  http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/ingredients-guide/chocolate-00000000039294/index.html