Do you guys have those moments in your life that you always think back to when you’re referencing past events? Like…was that before or after my first child was born? Was that before or after we moved across the country? Or got married? Or started a new job or bought a house?
Five years ago (and honestly, in so many ways, it feels like a lifetime ago), my husband and I had just moved to Louisiana. We had a 3-year-old who is now 8 (yes, I can do simple math) and a baby who is now 5 (again with the simple math). We were living in a teeeeeny tiny little rental house, the economy was on the verge of collapsing, and I didn’t know a single soul.
On the other side of the country, there was my friend Sara, who had a 2-year-old and was verypregnant with her second baby.
And we just decided to start putting recipes up on a blog, just for fun, kind of to keep ourselves sane.
I don’t know about the sane part, but the blog part is still here, 5 years, one name change (who’s been here since we were The Daily Bite??), at least 4 logo designs, 2 cookbooks, and 793 recipes later.
There’s no way to explain what a blessing this blog has been in our lives. It’s forced us to learn things we never thought we’d have to learn, do scary and wonderful things we never thought we’d do, and get to know people we never would have the chance to meet otherwise. You guys, if we didn’t have people reading this, this whole blog project would have fallen to the wayside a long time ago. You have read and loved and supported us, you’ve cooked and laughed and cried with us and we truly can’t thank you enough. For all those of you who we’ve had the chance to meet, or talk to, or email, we’ve loved it. For those of you who lurk in the shadows, that’s okay–we love you, too.
We’re not Oprah, so giving everyone a car is out of the question. Instead, I’m giving you pie. The catch is that you have to make it yourself.
I have not had French Silk Pie since I was a single lass in college and my roommate Sara (not Our Best Bites Sara…our only experience with being roommates is two nights in a hotel in Des Moines) made it so our apartment could impress an apartment full of guys. Why haven’t I made it in the past…um…12 1/2 years (it hurts to write those numbers)? Because it has raw eggs in it. And you guys know how I feel about cooked eggs, let alone raw eggs.
The whole raw egg issue is a hot topic. We’ve talked raw eggs before and opinions on the safety of raw eggs is all over the map. Here are the opinions and options you’re likely to run across (DISCLAIMER: THESE ARE NOT OUR BEST BITES’ OPINIONS! If you eat raw eggs and get sick and sue us, that’ll be a bummer for everyone!):
1) The chance of contracting salmonella from raw eggs is very small, so don’t worry about it.
2) If you eat raw farm-fresh eggs, you should be fine.
3) French people eat raw eggs all the time and they’re fine. Anyone who worries about contracting diseases from raw eggs are pansies. Now go away or they shall taunt us a second time.
3) If you wash eggs with antibacterial soap, it will kill the germs.
4) You can “pasteurize” the eggs by an elaborate microwave method that probably works and sounds like something that would make me not want to eat eggs for 10 years.
5) You can buy pasteurized eggs that are safe to eat raw.
I personally have never known anyone to get sick from eating raw eggs, but I still don’t do it or advocate it., but I have deep-rooted egg-related neuroses that may require therapy. And up until recently, I haven’t been able to find pasteurized eggs, until I stumbled (not literally…that would have been messy) upon them at my beloved Kroger.
They are expensive. For me, they’re not everyday eggs. But I can be 95% okay with eating French Silk Pie now, until I actually eat it, at which point I am 123% okay with eating it because it is the most delicious and decadent and best pie of all the pies.
For the crust, you’re going to need a stick of cold, salted butter, grated with a cheese grater…
all-purpose flour, brown sugar, salt, and pecans that have been finely chopped or ground (not into pecan butter, just into crumbs) in a blender or food processor.
Preheat oven to 325. Butter, grease, or spray a 9″ pie plate and set aside.
Combine the crust ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and combine with your fingers until coarse crumbs form.
Press into the prepared pie plate, using your fingers or the base of a glass to evenly form a crust.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is becoming golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
For the filling, you’ll need 1 1/2 sticks of salted butter, 1 cup sugar, vanilla, 3 eggs, and 3 ounces of unsweetened chocolate that’s been melted and cooled (so it’s still liquid, just not hot chocolatey liquid).
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the 1 1/2 sticks of butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the melted chocolate
and mix until combined.
Add 1 egg and beat for 5 minutes. Add the second egg and beat for another 5 minutes, and then add the third egg, beating for another 5 minutes. Yes, that is 15 minutes of beating. No, you may not cheat and not mix it for that long; only sadness will befall you. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
Using a rubber spatula, scrape the chocolate filling into the pie crust.
Carefully cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. When ready to serve, top with sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Makes 8 slices.
Thank you guys, again, for 5 of the most amazing years of our lives! Here’s to many more years of delicious fun-filled blog friendship in the future!
French Silk Pie
Recipe from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 stick salted butter, grated
1/3 cup pecan halves, coarsely ground in blender or food processor or finely chopped
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Filling:
1 1/2 sticks salted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs (pasteurized if possible)
Sweetened whipped cream
Shaved chocolate curls
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325. Butter, grease, or spray a 9″ pie plate and set aside.
Combine the crust ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and combine with your fingers until coarse crumbs form. Press into the prepared pie plate, using your fingers or the base of a glass to evenly form a crust. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is becoming golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the 1 1/2 sticks of butter, vanilla, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the melted chocolate and mix until combined. Add 1 egg and beat for 5 minutes. Add the second egg and beat for another 5 minutes, and then add the third egg, beating for another 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
Using a rubber spatula, scrape the chocolate filling into the pie crust. Carefully cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. When ready to serve, top with sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Makes 8 slices.
Questions & Reviews
Congrats on your blog birthday! One quick question- the vanilla is listed in the ingredients but nowhere in the directions. When should it be added? Thanks in advance 🙂
Do you ever have trouble with the pie being grainy? My husband LOVES this pie and I can only get it right about half of the time. Any suggestions on preventing a grainy texture?
I haven’t, BUT the biggest thing you can do is make SURE you’re beating for the full 5 minutes after every egg and are scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently. The graininess comes from sugar not getting the chance to dissolve completely, so as long as it’s actively in the mix, you’ll be fine!
The pie looks great, and Happy Birthday, but what I really want to know about is that clear glass mixing bowl for your kitchen aid! When did they come out with those? I love it!
I’m not totally sure, but I got mine a year or two ago from Amazon. Life-changing. Okay, that might be exaggerating a little, but most definitely awesome. 🙂
If they taunt us a second time we can always tell them their mother was a hamster and their father smelled of elderberries. I’ve been tagging along with you guys since The Daily Bite because you’re the best there is. Raw eggs never hurt Rocky Balboa. Happy Birthday OBB!
I know I’m a few days late but Happy Birthday! I have been looking around for a good French silk pie recipe, thank you for helping me out with that.:) On top of all of your wonderful recipes, you ladies are hilarious! Thanks for the laugh!
Happy birthday! Not a week goes by that I don’t make at least one (sometimes several) of your recipes. I’m making my grocery list right now and I’m using three of yours. So thanks for all the fun meal and treat inspiration!!
One of my companions on my mission shared this recipe with me. It is beyond delicious!! Congratulations on your success!! 🙂
You know, I have spent decades in the kitchen, and I’m all about homemade when it comes to pies. I never considered grating my butter before. I have always religiously cut it into my flour. What a great way to do it. So glad I browsed this recipe today. 🙂
Happy blogiversary! I’ve been “lurking in the shadows” (sounds pretty creepy, lol) for a couple of years now and have been enjoying your blog immensely all the way from Israel! Aside from your recipes, I love your self-deprecating sense of humor and overall openness with your readers. BTW, I’m hosting 5 preschoolers this week for a “mommies camp” during our spring break and am planning to do Sara’s homemade crayon craft with them. Your blog is so colorful and creative and I look forward to every post. Keep ’em coming!! <3
I love French Silk Pie. I know your crust probably elevates it to be 1000% better, but just FYI – if you’re really jonesing for one and are short on time, just plop the whole filling in a store-bought Oreo crust. Divine!
Thanks ladies, for the 5 years of great recipes – we love you!
Can’t believe it’s been 5 years already! You have done so well and will continue to. So very happy and proud of you and Sara!
Happy Birthday! You two make me smile every week. 🙂 Thanks.
I am so glad I have been able to be around since the beginning! (I am an old LDS BBC Gal) I have so many favorite recipes from you two! Happy birthday!
I will be making the French Silk Pie next week. It looks delicious! I have both of the Best Bites cookbooks. I know where the cookbooks are at all times. They have become like friends to me. With best wishes to you both.
hi kate, i have a question. i have never ever seen a cheese grater used to grate butter for a pie crust. and i was just wondering, how, why? does it really work? how did you find this mystical magical method of making the perfect pie crust? i have to know!
It’s just so much easier and faster to grate a cold stick of butter than to try and cut it into tiny pieces while it’s still cold. Try it–seriously, it will change your life! 🙂
you’re actually brilliant
A chef friend of mine suggested using the presented packets of chocolate because if your chocolate isn’t cooled enough it can cook the eggs.
Thanks for the fond memories of this recipe. It, too, harkens back to my sorority days which were, ahem, plenty MORE than 12 yr ago. I dug the recipe out for my sister-in-law who said the filling was so great she and her teenage boys ate it out of the bowl. For St. Patrick’s Day I was planning to make Irish Car Bomb cupcakes or Guiness Chocolate cake, but this will definitely get made tomorrow. Perhaps will serve it with Irish Cream or Whiskey-laced whipped cream. Wicked good.
Happy Birthday and thanks for all you do!
Hi Kate,
Happy Birthday to you and Sara and OUR BEST BITES. I am one of the people lurking around. I have grown to love both of you because of your humor, attitude, sweetness, faith, well everything else. Thanks to both of you for letting people share in your life through this blog and through the speaking engagements you have done.
I’m a registered dietitian and just want to say that the FDA estimates that a whopping 142,000 illnesses are caused each year by salmonella contaminated eggs. Back in late 2010, close to 2,000 people were sickened with Salmonella traced to an outbreak from shell eggs from just 2 suppliers in Iowa. Salmonella causes fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramping but symptoms may not start until up to 72 hours after you eat the contaminated food – so by then you may have forgotten about the couple of bites of raw cookie dough you ate 3 days ago. If you’ve ever had cramps and diarrhea out of nowhere, it could have been Salmonella you didn’t know you had. Get the pasteurized stuff and don’t take the risk, especially if you’re feeding little ones or people with weak immune systems.
PS – awesome looking pie and wonderful website! Happy Birthday!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!
I totally remember when you guys were the daily bite!! Way to go! Congrats!
Use those pasteurized eggs for making mayo also. You can take a chance on eating raw eggs yourself, but I wouldn’t do that to others, it’s not worth the risk.
Happy Birthday! I have a binder filled with your recipes! Love you guys!
This looks delicious and the only time I have had French Silk is at Village Inn years ago. I’m sure I need a re-do. And though I would never gulp down a raw egg all by itself, I have eaten raw cookie dough and brownie batter all my days and I have never gotten sick. I’ll just knock on wood before I eat this pie!
Happy birthday. I love reading your blog and we have tried and liked quite a few of your recepies. We are deffinitelly going to try this one too. We eat raw eggs ( I like the eggs mixed with sugar: it’s delitious) and we haven’t been sick because of that. The only time that I didn’t eat them or try to avoid them was when I was pregnant. During this time I promised myself as fast the child is born I will make myself some “sugar eggs” and eat some persutto (raw dry meat).
Thank you for writing for us.
That looks so decadent and delicious! I can not wait to try it…and I have no problem with raw eggs.
Thanks, Kate! I love French Silk Pie, but I’ve never made it. I had nose surgery a week ago and a nerve was bruised making my front teeth and the roof of my mouth feel like I was beat up with a bat – even though I wasn’t and they’re fine. The only thing that feels good is something super soft in my mouth. I think it’s really a mental thing but this is going to be so so so so heavenly! Thank you!
: ) Heike
I am grateful that five years ago you started to blog. I really enjoy reading your blog and making recipes from your blog and cookbook. Happy Blog Birthday. This pie looks delicious. Thank you!
Not even Jim Gaffigan could deny this.