Chocolate Midnight Pie (King Arthur)

 

This recipe is based on a King Arthur's Baking recipe.

NOTES

1. This pie crust uses confectioners sugar and is different from the one Liz makes.

2. King Arthur Baking says you can skip the cornmeal if you don't have it. It's included for texture, not flavor.

3. When Liz makes this for the first time, she'll likely skip the espresso entirely or replace it with orange zest, since we don't care for coffee.

4. All King Arthur Baking recipes use their own brand of flour. Their all-purpose flour has a higher gluten content than most other flours, so the outcome might differ when using another type of flour.

5. If using orange zest, consider when might be the appropriate time to add it.

6. Pie must be refrigerated an entire day or overnight.

INGREDIENTS

Crust

1-1/4 cups all-purpose Flour (149 g)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar (28 g)
heaping 1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbls unsalted butter, cold, cut into pats (85 g)
(optional) 1/4 tsp espresso powder
3 to 5 Tbl cold milk, cream, or similar product (half & half, light, heavy, or whipping) (43-71 g)

Filling

4 Tbls unsalted butter, room temperature (57 g)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (298 g)

1/4 tsp salt

4 large eggs

1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa (21 g)

(optional?) 2 Tbls coffee liqueur* (e.g., Kahlua), or substitute strong brewed coffee (28 g)

1 Tbl cold milk or cream (half-and-half, light, heavy, or whipping) (14 g)

1 tsp vanilla extract

(optional) 1 tsp espresso powder, for depth of flavor; or replace with maybe 1 Tbls of orange zest

2 Tbls yellow or white cornmeal, for texture (18 g)

2/3 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (113 g)

PREPARATION

To make the crust: 

1. Stir together the flour, sugar, and salt.

2. Work the butter into the dry ingredients (using your fingers, a pastry blender or fork, or a mixer) until the dough is unevenly crumbly.

3. Dissolve the espresso powder (if using) in 1 Tbl of the milk.  

 

4. Sprinkle up to 5 Tbl (or more, if necessary) of the milk into the dry ingredients (beginning with the tablespoon of espresso milk), continuing to mix until the dough is cohesive. Grab a handful; if it holds together willingly, and doesn't seem at all dry or crumbly, you've added enough liquid.

 

5. Shape the dough into a disk.

 

6. Roll its edges along a floured work surface (as though the disk were a wheel), in order to smooth them out.

 

7. Pat the disk until it's about 1" thick, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

 

8. When ready to roll out the crust, preheat the oven to 350°F and remove the dough from the refrigerator. Allow it to warm a bit and become flexible, 15 to 30 minutes

 

9. Flour your work surface, roll the dough into a 12" circle, and transfer the dough to a regular (not deep-dish) 9" pie pan that's at least 1 1/4" deep.

 

10. Trim and crimp the edges. Place the crust in the refrigerator to chill, while you're preparing the filling.

 

To make the filling:

1. Beat together the butter, sugar, and salt until smooth.

2. Add the eggs one at a time, beating slowly but thoroughly after each addition: you want to combine them with the butter and sugar, but not beat in a lot of air.

3. Stir in the cocoa, liqueur (if using), milk, and vanilla.

4. Use a food processor (mini, if you have one) to grind together the espresso powder, cornmeal, and chocolate chips.

 

5. Add to the batter and pour the batter into the crust.

6. Bake the pie for 45 minutes, adding a crust shield after 20 minutes. The middle may look pretty soft; so long as the temperature has reached 165°F right in the center, the pie is done. 

 

Note: If you're baking in a stoneware or glass pan, the baking time will almost certainly be a bit longer. Go by how the pie looks, not by your timer.

6. Remove the pie from the oven, cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate overnight before serving.

7. Serve each slice topped with a layer of whipped cream and a sprinkle of chocolate curls, if desired.