I’m a big fan of drawing out fun dates to last a whole week. With my birthday, I tend to make it birthday month, which is really just an excuse to go fun places and buy fun things. Going off that same logic, this week is pie week! The 14th of March is International Pi(e) day, (in America the date is written at 3/14, hence pi day), so I’m calling it pie week. I have a couple of super fun recipes coming your way, starting with this ridiculously good Double Chocolate Mint Chip Pie.
This recipe comes from Chris Taylor and Paul Arguin’s book that comes out on the 14th, called ‘The New Pie’. Chris and Paul are a married couple from Georgia, who were originally brought together by baking, and have made it their hobby entering (and winning) all kinds of pie contests (which I had no idea were a thing until I read their book!). The book is just beautiful - and filled with the most inventive, unique pie recipes I have ever seen. All the recipes are super clearly explained (and have weight measurements!!), and I am so, so excited to make some more pies from it!
I had a really hard time picking a recipe to share here with you - I must have flicked through the book 10 or 15 times before I finally found myself returning over and over again to this Double Chocolate Mint Chip Pie. Mint chocolate chip is my all time fave flavour of ice cream - always has been, always will be. This recipe encapsulates all the aspects of the flavour, with a cocoa pastry, a layer of ganache topped with chopped mints, a mint chip cream topping filled with crispy pearls (!!), and a cocoa whipped cream. Alone, the components are amazing, but together, they combine to form some kind of magic combination. If mint chocolate chip ice cream was a pie, this is exactly what it would taste like.
A few wee tips:
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I used a ‘deep dish’ pie plate for this recipe - Chris and Paul describe this as having a top internal diameter of 9 1/8” to 9 5/8”, between 1 3/8” and 2” tall, and having a capacity for about 5 cups filling.
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This pie can be broken up over a few days if you like - I made the pie dough then gave it an overnight rest, then the next day I blind baked the shell, did the ganache, let it set, then added the mint cream layer, and let it set for 4 hours before finishing it off.
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The wee drizzle on the shell is a cute, quick step - Chris and Paul use white chocolate and green candy melts, but I popped a little bit of gel food colouring into some white chocolate to make the green and it worked great!
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I used super orange yolks when I was making the filling, so ended up adding a bit more food colouring to counter this - if you don’t want a super green pie, slightly paler yolks might work better!
Double Chocolate Mint Chip Pie
- Makes one 9 1/2” deep dish pie -
Reprinted with permission from ‘The New Pie’ by Chris Taylor and Paul Arguin
Cocoa Pastry Crust
191g all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
28g Vegetable Shortening
28g powdered sugar
21g Dutch Process or Black Cocoa
113g Cold, Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp vanilla extract
57g Strongly brewed coffee
Green and White Drizzle (Optional)
80g white chocolate, melted
a few drops mint gel food colouring
Mint Chip Ganache
227g Bittersweet chocolate, chopped
261g Heavy Cream
80g Chocolate Mints, such as Andes (I used after eight mints), Chopped
Mint Chocolate Chip Cream
2 1/2 tsp powdered gelatine
3 large egg yolks
100g sugar
120g whole milk
227g white chocolate, melted
28g Green Creme de Menthe (I didn’t have this, so used 1/2 tsp peppermint extract)
1-2 drops Mint green gel food colouring (optional)
350g Heavy Cream
45g Chocolate pearls, preferably Valrhona (or you can use mini chocolate chips)
Cocoa Whipped Cream
230g Heavy Cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
15g Powdered Sugar
1 Tbsp Dutch Process or black cocoa
- PROCESS -
COCOA PASTRY CRUST
Measure the flour, salt, and baking powder directly into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the ingredients once or twice to combine them.
Place the shortening, powdered sugar, and cocoa into a separate small bowl. Using a small rubber spatula, smear the shortening into the powders, pressing against the sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue to work your way around the bowl until all the ingredients have been combined into a chocolatey paste.
Using the small rubber spatula, divide the chocolatey paste into three or four roughly equal nuggets and add them to the flour mixture. Pulse three or four times (1 second pulses) until the chocolate seems evenly dispersed into the flour.
Add the butter to the flour and pulse four or five times. At this point the flour should appear slightly textured, like coarse cornmeal, with small bits of butter flecked throughout. If not, pulse one or two more times.
Drizzle the coffee and vanilla over the liquid.
Using 1-second pulses, process the mixture until it transforms from dry and powdery into a large clump of cohesive dough, 8 to 15 pulses. Stop pulsing once most of the dough is clumped together.
Transfer the dough and any remaining unincorporated flour to a smooth work surface. To incorporate any loose flour, press and smear the flour across the work surface with the heel of your hand. Gather all the dough and press it into a 5 to 6 inch disc about 1 inch thick.
Wrap the disc in plastic wrap, and smooth the outer 1 inch thick edge with your fingertips or by rolling the disc along the countertop. These smooth edges will make the dough easier to roll out in a circle. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and roll out to a circle approximately 15” in diameter, and 1/8” thick. Place the dough in the pie pan, and crimp the edges as desired. Freeze the dough-lined pan for at least 20 minutes while preheating the oven to 350°f.
Lightly spray one side of an 18 inch piece of aluminium foil with cooking spray. Line the crust with the foil, sprayed side down. Fill the pan with the pie weights.
Bake the crust until the crust is set, 50 to 60 minutes, peeking under the edge of the foil to check for doneness. Remove the pie pan from the oven and lift out the pie weights by using the corders of the foil. The goal is for the inside of the pie shell to be evenly baked - it should look like a finished crust. If it is still not done (this can be a little hard to tell with cocoa crust, but it needs to feel dry when you touch it with a finger), place it back into the oven without weights and continue to bake, checking every 2 minutes. Cool the pie crust completely on a wire rack.
To add the drizzle, add half of the melted white chocolate to a piping bag. Tint the other half with a drop of mint green colour, and transfer to another piping bag. Snip the end off each to create a small hole.
Carefully remove the cooled chocolate crust from the pan to a double layer of paper towels on a baking sheet. If the crust does not seem like it is going to come out, abort the mission and drizzle the chocolate over the crust still in the pan. Drizzle the chocolate over the edge of the crust, allowing the excess to land on the outside of the crust. Some will land in the crust, but that is fine because it will be covered with the filling. Allow to set for about 10 minutes before returning the crust to the pan and filling the pie.
MINT CHIP GANACHE
Place the chopped bittersweet chocolate in a medium heat-safe bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it begins to simmer (watch it closely so it doesn’t boil over), then pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and set aside for 30 seconds. Whisk the hot cream and chopped chocolate together until the mixture is smooth.
Transfer the chocolate ganache to the cooled pie crust, smoothing with an offset spatula, if necessary. Sprinkle the chopped chocolate mints over the top of the ganache. Transfer the pie to the refrigerator and chill until the ganache is set, about 2 hours.
MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP CREAM
Sprinkle the gelatine over 2 Tbsp water in a small microwave safe bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and milk. Whisking constantly, cook the mixture over medium low heat until it is slightly thickened and reaches 160°f on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes. The mixture will coat the back of a spoon when it is properly thickened. Remove the egg mixture from the heat and continue whisking it to cool it slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.
Heat the gelatine mixture in the microwave on high power in 5 second intervals, checking and stirring it until it just begins to bubble at the edges and the gelatin is dissolved (don’t let it boil). Whisk the gelatine into the egg mixture.
Whisk the melted white chocolate into the egg mixture until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Whisk in the creme de menthe (or peppermint extract) and mint colour, if using. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent premature gelling.
In a large bowl (or using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), whip the cream on medium high speed until it holds stiff peaks, 1-3 minutes. reduce the speed to low and slowly drizzle in the mint white chocolate mixture until it is completely incorporated. Fold in the chocolate pearls.
Transfer the mint chocolate chip cream to the chilled pie, smoothing with an offset spatula. Return the pie to the refrigerator and allow it to chill until the mint cream layer is set, 4 to 6 hours (or up to overnight).
COCOA WHIPPED CREAM
If using a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream, vanilla, and cocoa on medium-high speed, or until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar, and beat on medium high speed until stiff peaks form, 1-3 minutes. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with an open star attachment. Pipe rings of whipped cream around the outside of the pie.
Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days.
‘The New Pie’ is copyright 2019 by Chris Taylor and Paul Arguin, and was published in 2019 by Clarkson Potter/ Publishers.
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