PIE #17 - Kahlúa Fudge Brownie Pie

With sixteen pies now under my belt, I can safely say I've gotten into the spirit of pie making. And since my spirits are soaring with several pie successes, I announce this month's pie theme: spirited pies featuring an infusion of liqueurs and assorted spirits.

The following recipe is Ken Haedrich's and it's a winner. Kahlúa, brownies, fudge: these three things are delicious on their own, but watch out when you combine them with a decadent nut crust. If you are a chocoholic or a coffee lover, this pie will send you into the danger zone!

The nut crust was a bit of a challenge to roll out and it cracked during baking. Although the crust wasn't picture perfect, the flavor was impressive and the texture interesting. This pie is deeply complex with the coffee/cocoa/nut combination. I savored each rapturous bite and polished off a big slice with nary a wince at the level of richness. I suggest serving it with a scoop of dulce de leche or coffee ice cream. The texture of the pie is quite gooey which makes cutting neat slices a challenge. Let the pie rest for an hour after removing it from the oven. If your crust is misshapen like mine, the whipped cream garnish will cover any imperfections. Add a scoop of premium ice cream and then be prepared for your guests to swoon.

Nutty Pie Pastry:
1/3 cup walnut halves
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 tablespoon cold vegetable shortening
2-3 tablespoons cold water

Combine nuts and sugar in a food processor, grinding the nuts until almost as fine as flour and making sure to grind all nuts. Add the flour and salt to the machine and pulse to mix. Scatter the butter bits over the dry ingredients and pulse 4-5 times. Add the shortening and pulse again. Drizzle the water over the flour mixture and pulse 5-6 times until the dough starts to form clumps. Dump the contents into a larger bowl. Using your hands, pack the pastry into a ball. Knead once or twice, then flatten into a 3/4-inch disk onto plastic wrap and wrap tightly and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.

On a sheet of lightly floured wax paper, roll the pastry into a 13-inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Invert the pastry over a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie pan, center, and peel off paper. Tuck the pastry into the pan and sculpt the edge into an upstanding ridge. Place in freezer for 15 minutes, remove and gently line crust with aluminum foil, add pie weights and then partially prebake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Take crust out of oven, remove foil, prick crust with fork a few times and bake for another 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven and cool.

Filling:
1 1/2 sticks butter
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cups sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons Kahlúa*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over very low heat. Chop the chocolate and add it to the saucepan when the butter is almost melted. When the butter is completely melted, turn off the heat but leave the pan in place for another minute or so, tilting and swirling it once or twice so that the hot butter runs over the chocolate. Remove the pan from the heat. Wait 3-4 minutes, then whisk the chocolate until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Place walnuts in a food processor with 1/4 cup of the sugar, the cocoa, flour, and salt. Pulse repeatedly until the nuts are very finely chopped. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and remaining 3/4 cup sugar in a large bowl until quite light and airy, about 4 minutes. Add the Kahlúa, vanilla, and nut mixture and beat again until smooth. Add the chocolate mixture and beat briefly until the filling is uniformly mixed. Pour the filling into the cooled pie shell.

Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake for 35 minutes. There's no test for doneness on this pie. The pie might puff up a bit and the filling will seem loose under the crusted top, but this is normal.

Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool thoroughly. The pie can be sliced once is has cooled, but the texture will be better for slicing if the pie is refrigerated for at least an hour and ideally overnight. Garnish with whipped cream , if desired.

*You can substitute 1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder or coffee granules. Add it to the nuts when you process them.