Preparation / Directions:
Lightly oil the sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Grind the cookies to crumbs in a food processor or blender. Mix with the melted butter and press into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Chill.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot but not boiling water. Meanwhile, whip 2 cups of the cream with 1/3 cup powdered sugar. When the chocolate is melted, remove the heat and add the whole eggs and yolks. Mix very well, then fold in the whipped cream.
Beat the egg whites and fold them into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the chilled crust. Chill overnight, or at least 6 hours.
Whip the remaining cream and sugar and spread about half the whipped cream on top of the pie. Unmold the pie and pipe the remaining cream around the edge with a pastry bag and a star tip. Scatter a layer of chocolate curls evenly over the middle.
Notes: To make chocolate curls, use a vegetable peeler to pare away wide, thin slices from a large block of room-temperature bittersweet chocolate. They will curl up as they come off the block.
This is the single recipe that put me on the culinary map. During my cooking school days in San Francisco, Bon Appetit chose one of my chocolate desserts to feature in the December 1980 issue and included it as the cover picture. When we opened Cafe Terra Cotta in Tucson, it became our signature dessert, and it is destined to remain in that position.
VARIATION: Arrange chocolate leaves on top, either overlapping in the center or randomly. Recipe separate.
|
