Milk Chocolate Humble Pie From Dominique Ansel

It’s amazing how much insight you can get from 35 characters. That’s how long the message on our cake plaques can be. In the back of our kitchen, our chef rolls a small cornet out of parchment paper, spoons in a dollop of melted chocolate, and delicately pipes out the message in cursive. Suddenly, the cake has a voice.
“Happy 100th Birthday, Great-Grandpa” brought an extra-wide smile to my face. What a night that must have been with generations coming together to celebrate a milestone. Each letter added more color to the picture, and more heart to the flavors.

Curiously, once in a while a different type of message would surface. The first one that I noticed simply said: “I’m sorry I forgot.” A few months later, we spotted a “Please forgive me.” And even one that said: “I hope we can still be friends.” It never occurred to me that cakes could be messengers for apologies.
To be honest, I was a little skeptical. Would I really forgive someone because they got me a pastry?

One day, I decided I would ask. A guest had come to pick up her cake decorated with a “I’m sorry for being grumpy” plaque. “Are you receiving the apology or giving it?” I asked. She explained she was the apologizer, not the apologizee, and she was bringing it to a coworker.

When asked whether she thought this was effective, she smiled. “Well, I love pastries and they always make me feel better. So, I know people who know me will understand the sincerity behind this.” She looked lovingly at the chocolate silk pie that she had chosen, her version of a “humble pie.” Layers of chocolate on top of chocolate decadence, the star being the rich ganache filling, which carries with it the hopes of smoothing out any argument. It’s a recipe that takes a little planning ahead to make each component—from the chocolate sablé pie dough to the ganache filling to finally the vanilla whipped cream on top. It is built from the bottom up, with the darkest chocolate flavor in the crust and the lightest peaks of cream on the top.

“Worse comes to worst, I’ll eat it. I’ve got a sweet tooth,” she said before heading out. “And for that, I’m never sorry.”

Photo by Evan Sung

INGREDIENTS

Makes 1 pie (6 to 8 servings)

CHOCOLATE SABLÉ CRUST

⅔ cup (80 grams) powdered sugar

¼ cup (24 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder

1¼ cups (200 grams) all-purpose flour

1¼ (7 grams) teaspoons salt

1 stick + 2 tablespoons (140 grams, 5 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 large egg (50 grams)

Softened unsalted butter, for the pie pan

MILK CHOCOLATE GANACHE

½ cup + 1 tablespoon (130 grams) whole milk

1 cup (229 grams) heavy cream

5 large (104 grams) egg yolks

⅓ cup (76 grams) granulated sugar

2½ cups (330 grams) chopped milk chocolate

½ cup (104 grams) water

2½ tablespoons (17 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder

VANILLA WHIPPED CREAM

2 cups + 2 tablespoons (500 grams) heavy cream, well chilled*

¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar

Vanilla seeds (scraped from 1 vanilla bean) or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

*Make sure your cream is cold. If it’s room temperature or warm, it won’t whip up into fluffy peaks.

ASSEMBLY

Cocoa powder or chocolate shavings, for garnish

METHOD

MAKE THE CHOCOLATE SABLÉ CRUST
Mix the dough: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), combine the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, flour, salt, and butter. Mix on low speed until the ingredients are well combined and the texture resembles sand, just a few minutes.

In a small bowl, beat the egg. Add to the bowl and mix until fully incorporated and the dough is smooth. Do not overmix.

Chill the dough: Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and shape it into a ball. Wrap in the plastic and flatten into a disc (flattening the dough helps it chill faster). Refrigerate for at least 1 to 2 hours (or up to overnight), until cold but still pliable. It should have the texture of clay. The dough can be made the day before, then rolled and baked the next day.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C).

Roll out the dough: Make sure the dough is cold before rolling it out. Using dough that’s too warm will cause it to stick to your work surface and the crust will shrink as it bakes. Flour your work surface and rolling pin.* Unwrap the chilled dough and roll out to a large round about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick and 11½ inches (29 cm) in diameter. Be sure to work quickly so the dough doesn’t get too warm. If you notice the dough is sticking to the rolling pin or work surface, add some more flour. You can also rewrap it in plastic and return it to the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes, or even put it in the freezer for 5 minutes, until chilled again.
*You can also roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, which will make it easier to lift up and lay into your pie pan later.

Cut the dough: Using your 10-inch (25 cm) pie pan as a guide, cut the dough into a round that’s 1½ to 2 inches (4 to 5 cm) wider than the top of the pan (the width of the dough round will depend on the depth of your pan). This ensures the dough will reach up the sides.

Fonçage the dough: Now the fun part—fonçaging, or forming the dough into a pie shape. Butter the pie pan. Place the round of chilled dough on top and push down gently with your fingers, pressing along the inside of the pan and into the inside edge (don’t press too hard, as you want the dough to have an even thickness so it bakes evenly). Use a paring knife to trim away any excess dough hanging over the sides of the pan, leaving about a ⅓-inch (1 cm) overhang. Fold the dough under itself onto the flat rim of the pie pan.

Flute the edges: To “flute”—or crimp—the edges of your pie shell, push the dough with your thumb from one hand in between the thumb and index finger of the opposite hand. Continue to work your way around until you’ve crimped the entire crust.

**Blind-bake* the pie shell:** Line the pie shell with a round of parchment paper (a large coffee filter works, too!). The surface of the dough—including the sides—should be completely covered. Fill the crust with pie weights (or uncooked rice or dried beans) to keep the dough in place.
Since the filling for this pie doesn’t require baking, you’ll need to bake the pie crust in advance of filling it. This is called blind-baking.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the parchment/coffee filter and the weights/rice/beans, return to the pie crust to the oven, and continue baking until there are no more wet spots on the surface of the dough, another 8 to 10 minutes. The dark color of the dough makes it hard to tell when the crust is done baking. To avoid overbaking, check the crust periodically; if there are no wet spots, it’s ready.

Cool the pie crust: Remove the pie crust from the oven and let cool fully in the pie pan. As your pie crust is cooling, make the milk chocolate ganache.
*Before you start assembling your pie, always make sure the crust is fully cooled. If the crust is too hot, the cream will melt and soak into the crust, giving you a soggy-bottomed pie.

MAKE THE MILK CHOCOLATE GANACHE
Heat the milk and cream: In a medium pot, bring the milk and cream to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a whisk. Do not boil. Once the mixture reaches a simmer, remove from the heat.

Temper the eggs: In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until evenly combined. While whisking, slowly pour about one-third of the heated milk mixture into the egg mixture to “temper” the eggs (which means to bring up the temperature slowly so that the eggs don’t scramble). Repeat with another one-third of the milk while continuing to whisk.

Cook the custard: Add the egg mixture to the pot containing the remainder of the milk and whisk to combine. Over medium heat, cook the mixture until it reaches 185°F (85°C) on a digital thermometer while continuing to whisk, making sure there are no lumps. Remove from the heat.

Melt the chocolate: Place the chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Pour the hot custard mixture over it. Let sit for a few minutes so the chocolate begins to melt. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.

In a small bowl, stir together the water and cocoa powder. Pour into the chocolate ganache mixture and blend until smooth.

Fill the pie and chill: Immediately fill the fully cooled pie shell with your just-made chocolate ganache (which will still be liquidy at this point, but will finish setting in the fridge). Transfer to the refrigerator to chill until the chocolate ganache sets (it’ll be jiggly in texture and no longer a liquid), a few hours or up to overnight.

MEANWHILE, MAKE THE VANILLA WHIPPED CREAM
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk (or a large bowl with a hand mixer or whisk), combine the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla seeds (or extract). Whip on high speed until soft peaks form, just a few minutes. Refrigerate until ready to assemble the pie.

FINISH ASSEMBLING THE PIE
Remove the chilled pie from the fridge. Using a rubber spatula, spread a generous amount of vanilla whipped cream on top. Finish with a dusting of cocoa powder or chocolate shavings. Slice and serve right away.

STORAGE
Best enjoyed immediately. To store, cover tightly with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.

From Life’s Sweetest Moments by Dominique Ansel. Reprinted by permission of Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

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