Chocolate Crumble Pie

Ryan's grandfather, or Vovo as they call him, recently turned 90 and this is what I brought to his church's potluck celebration.

I made it the day before, with my sister sitting in my kitchen and carrying on in enjoyable sisterly conversation. After I had distractedly gone through my cabinets a couple times I realized that my loose-bottom tart pan was MIA! My sister lovingly helped me go through every cabinet again and think through where it might be...but I've moved so many times that I can't think where it might be. I thought I would find it when I unpacked in our new house a couple weeks ago, but to no avail. That tart pan is still hiding and I just know it will turn up the day after I buy a new one!

Anyway, I had to make do with a springform pan, which did the job, but not beautifully.

People liked the pie anyway, or at least Ryan did. And sometimes that's all that matters. :)

Here's the recipe.

Chocolate Crumble Pie
adapted from Everyday Chocolate

Dough
7 oz or scant 1.25 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 oz unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Generous 1/4 cup sugar (superfine if you have it)
1 egg yolk
1-2 tsp cold water (I ended up using more)

Filling
5 fl oz or 2/3 cup heavy cream
5 fl oz or 2/3 cup milk
8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 eggs

Crumble Topping
Generous 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup toasted pecans
4 oz semisweet chocolate
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa

To make the pie dough, sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, rub in the butter, and stir in the sugar. Then add the egg yolk and a little water until the dough comes together. Turn the dough out and knead briefly. Wrap the dough and let chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375. Roll out the pie dough ad use to line a 9 in loose-bottom tart pan (if you can find it!). Prick the pastry shell with a fork. Line with parchment paper and fill with dried beans (at this point I couldn't find my special baking beans and have not found them to this day...I'm still convinced someone was trying to sabotage my recipe that day). Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and take out paper and beans. Reduce oven temp to 350.

Bring the cream and milk to a boil in a pan, remove from heat, and add the chocolate. Stir until melted and smooth. Beat the eggs and add to the chocolate mixture. Mix thoroughly and pour into the shell. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven, and let rest for 1 hour.

Place the topping ingredients in a food processor and pulse to chop, or chop the nuts and chocolate then add to the other ingredients and crush in a large bowl. Sprinkle over the pie right before serving.

I managed to nab this shot with my phone when I set it out.