Everything's Better With Good Quality Chocolate

Passport & Plate - Hot Fudge Pie

USA | Wednesday, March 4, 2015 | 3 photos

Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ cup vegetable shortening
- ¼ cup butter
- 4-6 tablespoons ice water

Filling
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (the better the chocolate, the better the pie)
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
- 2 eggs, well beaten
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup pecans , lightly toasted (optional)

 

How to prepare this recipe
For the crust:
1) Butter a 9-inch pie pan and set aside
2) In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Cut in shortening and butter with two forks until mixture is pea-sized crumbles
3) Gradually add water, one tablespoon at a time, to mixture while stirring with a wooden spoon until ball of dough is formed.
4) Place dough between two floured pieces of plastic wrap. Rolling from the center, roll until the dough 1/8-inch thick. Remove dough from plastic wrap and place in prepared pie pan. Press lightly into the bottom of the pan. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least two hours to overnight.

For the filling:
1) Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler.
2) Remove from heat and add eggs.
3) Mix in sugar, flour, salt, vanilla and pecans.
4) Pour into prepared pie shell and bake for 35-45 minutes or until center is set and crust is lightly browned.
5) Serve with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream

 

The story behind this recipe
My dad is a baker by trade. At an early age, he taught me how to make classic Southern desserts like caramel cake, peach cobbler and banana pudding. People think it’s funny when I tell them that I learned how to make biscuits and croissants before I could tie my shoes. My dad made sure that I knew the most important ingredient of any recipe is love, it’s totally worth the extra effort to make my pie crust from scratch and it’s extremely important to use good quality chocolate.

I thought I knew what good quality chocolate was, what it tasted like, how it smelled. But I had no idea. During a layover at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France, on my way to Sweden for a business trip, I grabbed several bars of Valrhona chocolate. At the time, I didn’t even know what I was going to do with them. But then, I had an epiphany. The very first thing I would make when I got home was my dad’s hot fudge pie. It was my favorite dish of his, and if everything is better with good quality chocolate, then I couldn’t wait to try it. It blew my mind. Combining this simple, Southern dessert with a rich, French chocolate was an explosive combination that could not be beat.

I love this pie; it’s warm, gooey, luscious and my idea of the perfect comfort food. After my parents got divorced when I was fourteen, this is the dish I’d make when I wanted to remember good times with my dad. I still bake this pie at least three to four times a year (with Valrhona, of course). I didn’t have a lot of time to explore Sweden, because of work, but I’m thankful for the few hours that I had at Charles de Gaulle airport, because it totally changed the way I cook, and for that, I am eternally grateful.