French Silk Pie

Here’s the recipe for one of the other desserts I served up today….French Silk Pie. It tastes just like soft chocolate ice cream. It can be made a day in advance, so it’s a nice “make-ahead” dessert too. It’s definitely not a dessert for diets though!

French Silk Pie

Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 (1 oz. each) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
½ cup unsalted butter, melted

Mix the above ingredients together and press into a 9-inch pie plate. Freeze until ready to fill.

Filling:
1 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
Dash salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Beat cream cheese, ½ cup of the light brown sugar and salt together until smooth. Beat in egg yolks. Beat in cooled chocolate. In another bowl, beat egg whites with the other ¼ cup brown sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold into chocolate cream cheese mixture. In another bowl, beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold that into chocolate mixture. Pour about half of the mixture into chilled crust. Put the rest of the filling in the refrigerator about 2 hours, to let it set. Then spoon the remaining filling into pie crust, in a decorative fashion. Garnish with chocolate covered espresso beans if desired. Chill 8 hours or overnight.

Rolled Baklava

Here’s one of the desserts I made today….rolled baklava. This is a slightly easier-to-prepare rendition of the classic Greek honey and nut dessert.

2 cups finely chopped walnuts
1 cup granulated sugar
1 T. (heaping) cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 pound phyllo pastry sheets
2 cups unsalted butter, melted
1 cup honey
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 T. lemon juice

Combine first four ingredients in medium bowl, and set aside. Brush one phyllo sheet with butter; top with 3 more phyllo sheets, lightly brushing each layer with some of the butter. Cover remaining phyllo sheets with a towel. Spread about 1/3 cup of the nut mixture along one short end of the buttered phyllo sheets; fold in both long sides over filling and then roll up jelly roll style, starting at the end with the filling. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets, melted butter and nut mixture to make 6 more logs. Lightly brush each log with some of the remaining butter. Make small cuts in the tops of the logs at 1-inch intervals. Place seam side down in lightly buttered baking dish. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Then bake in 350° F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, make syrup by heating remaining ingredients (1 cup honey, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup water and 1 T. lemon juice) in heavy medium saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Simmer 5 minutes.

Remove baked baklava from baking dish, and then transfer to a cutting board. Cut each log into 6 slices, along the slits that were made before baking. Using a slotted spoon, dip each baklava slie into the syrup and place on serving platter. Can be made 1 day in advance. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

[DO-AHEAD TIP: Assembled and buttered baklava logs can be placed in freezer, unbaked, and kept frozen 1-2 months before baking. Wrap each log in double layers of plastic wrap. Thaw overnight in refrigerator before baking.]

Here's a photo of the dessert tray I made, with the baklava and Hershey Kiss Mexican Wedding Cakes:

Happy baklava-making!
~Becky