Sunday afternoon I was invited to go to a pie exchange party. I was to bring a pie and the recipe to share. How fun!!! and What a great idea! I was so happy to have been invited to a pie exchange party. It was a change from the cookie exchange party that I sometimes get invited to, and so more useful! I say that because I tend to bake more cakes and pies than I bake cookies.

It was so difficult to choose which pie to bring though. There are millions of pie recipes out there.  Being only a few days before Thanksgiving I assumed that many people would be bringing pumpkin pie, or fall recipes so I thought i would bring a chocolate pie. Most everyone loves chocolate, and I do. So if no one else will like my pie, at least I can take it home and eat it;-)

Ingredients for a pie of 9 inch wide:

for the pie crust:

You can buy an already pie crust in the refrigerated part of your grocery store, or you can make your own.

• 1 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 4 oz or 115 gr. of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 2-4 tbsp of water

Sift the flour and the baking powder in a large bowl, then add the sugar and mix well. Add the butter cut into small pieces and mix in it in the flour with your hands, rubbing your hands together. Little by little add a few drops of water and knead the dough. Roll the dough in a ball and refrigerate for 15 minutes or more.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and place it on the roul’pat, and roll the dough out into a 10 inch circle.

With the rolling pin, lift the dough from the roul’pat and place it into the scalloped tart mold.

With the fork, prick the pastry shell with a fork.

Cover the pie with a piece of parchment paper, add dry beans ( for preventing the pie crust for bubbling up, and for keeping it flat). Place the tart mold onto a medium perforated sheet for support and bake it into a warm oven of 375 for 13 minutes or until the edge of the pie are becoming a light golden brown.

While the pie crust is cooking, prepare the filling.

Ingredients for the filling:

• 2/3 cup of heavy cream
• 2/3 cup of milk
• 8 oz or 225 gr. of bittersweet chocolate chips ( preferably ghiradhelli)
• 2 eggs

Bring the milk and the cream to boil, and pour it over the chocolate chips. With a whisk, stir until you see no more chocolate chips. Add the eggs into the chocolate mixture and mix well. Remove the dry beans and parchement paper from the pie crust and pour the chocolate mixture into the pie shell. Cook the pie for 15 minutes at 350. Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool. Meanwhile prepare the topping.

Topping:

• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 3/4 cup of pecan bits
• 4 oz of bittersweet chocolate bark cut in pieces
• about 6 meringue cookies crushed into coarse pieces.

In a small saucepan, pour in 1/2 cup of sugar and place the saucepan onto the stove at medium temperature. Cook until the sugar is slowly melting and is turning a golden brown on the outer part of the saucepan. Stir until the sugar is completly melted and is becoming an amber color. Remove the saucepan from the stove and mix well. Warm up the cream to a boiling point. Pour the cream very carefully and stir. Place the mixture back onto the stove to completly melt the caramel into the cream.

In a large bowl, add the chocolate chips, the pecan bits, and the meringue and pour in the caramel. Mix gently. Pour this mixture over the chocolate pie and let it cool. Et voila!

Shown above is the same recipe that I use above, but I used the rectangular tart mold and only 2/3 of the recipe. It looks great in both pan. No matter what pan you use, your guests will love this pie. I received many many compliments;-) I hope that you will enjoy it as much as we have.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!