Chocolate Walnut Pie

I made this pie for a party last year when I was not blogging. In those days, I just clicked pictures and uploaded them to web albums along with recipe notes. It was my way of having a recipe book.
In my usual habit, I made a lot of food for the party and everyone was stuffed when I said there is dessert to come. But this pie was so decadent, no one could say no to it. Some even asked if they could take a slice home to savour on a more relaxed stomach :)
The husband said this pie is better than any restaurant pie I have had. I have to agree. The pie was so good beyond my expectations. I was glad there were other people to share the pie otherwise I could definitely have finished it on my own.
I mostly followed this recipe exactly except I used a different and very easy method of "cutting" butter into the flour which I found here. I did not use bourbon because I didn't want to buy a bottle just for this (we dont drink) but I am sure it will taste even better with the bourbon. I did not top my pie with ganache. I am not that big on chocolate but I do think serving that warm slice of pie with vanilla ice cream definitely is the best way to enjoy this pie.

Next day slice heated in the oven and topped with vanilla icecream

This really is the kind of dessert where you want to close all your other senses and really savour every bite without interruptions.

Chocolate Walnut Pie
recipe source : Classicalkitchen.com
A rich decadent dessert fit for any special occasion.

Ingredients:

For Crust:
1 1/4 cup	all purpose flour
1/2 cup	frozen butter
1/2 tsp	salt
1/2 tsp	sugar
1 tsp	pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp	ice cold water
For Filling:
1/2 cup	melted butter
1/4 cup	white sugar
3/4 cup	brown sugar
3/4 cup	corn syrup
4	eggs
1 1/2 tsp	pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup	toasted walnuts
3/4 cup	semi sweet chocolate chips

For Crust:

• Whisk together flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.
• Grate the frozen butter using large grater holes. Mix grated butter into the flour mix with a spatula.
• Put the bowl in the freezer for 10 mins to get the butter cold again.
• Mix vanilla and ice cold water.
• Sprinkle the vanilla over the flour and mix gently with a spatula. The dough should just come together.
• Remove the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a disc. Handle gently and do not allow the butter gratings to melt a lot. The butter pieces should be visible in the dough.
• Wrap well in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
• Remove the dough and sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
• Roll the dough into a 12 inch circle with 1/8 inch thickness.
• Roll the dough circle gently around the rolling pin to help lift the dough. Gently unroll onto the pie dish and press lightly into place. Cut any overhanging dough. I used a fork around the edge for a little decorative design.
• I used to left over dough from cutting to form flower petals.
• Put the pie plate in the freezer while preparing the filling.
For Filling:

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Using a hand mixer with whisk attachment, whisk the melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs and vanilla till fluffy.
• Add the chocolate chips and walnuts and fold them in.
The pie:
• Pour the filling into the pie dish removed from the freezer.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes.
• Pie is set when you shake it gently and the center is slightly soft. The pie will continue to set while it cools.
• Let the pie cool down completely before trying to slice it.
• Bake the flower petals on a separate baking tray or aluminium foil for 10 minutes and then arrange on the pie when it comes out of the oven.

Notes:

It is very important to keep the pie crust very cold. So the use of frozen butter and ice cold water is very important. So are the cooling times in the freezer and the fridge. Only a cold crust will become flaky, crisp and melt your mouth.

Be gentle with the dough. If you press it down too much into the pie dish or overwork it, the crust can shrink.