Chef/owner Cam Tran,
Café Ce Soir
Shortbread-like almond crust filled with cherries and creamy chocolate.
Ingredients
Almond dough
2 cups of butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 pinches salt
1 cup almond powder
4 eggs
4 pinches of baking powder
2 1/2 cup of pastry flour
Chocolate pastry cream
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 eggs
3/4 cup chocolate
Method
Pastry cream
1. Mix eggs and sugar in a bowl. Add cornstarch.
2. Boil milk in a saucepan. Whisk constantly.
3. Mix 1/2 of milk into egg mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Whisk and cook until thick and bubbly.
4. Whisk in chocolate and butter until melted. Pour onto saran wrap and wrap. Remove air as much as possible. Cool down and refrigerate.
Dough
1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Mix butter, sugar, salt and almond powder until creamy. Add eggs and mix. Combine flour and baking powder. Add to butter mixture. Mix on low speed. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.
3. Roll out dough 1/2 cm thick. Use icing sugar to prevent sticking. Place the dough in a flan pan.
4. Whisk ingredients. Spread pastry cream onto dough, leaving half for other filling.
5. Add 1 can of Smith cherry filling.
6. Cover cherries with remaining chocolate pastry cream.
7. Cover pie with dough, press edges together. Brush with egg yokes. Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes. Turn down heat to 350°F and bake for another 10 minutes.
Yield 1 pie