Black-Bottom Walnut Pie

After over ten years in business, San Francisco native Jaynelle St. Jean’s Pietisserie has become known nationally as a home for delicious pies that push the envelope, like this pie that slips a thin layer of bittersweet chocolate ganache between the pastry crust and sweet walnut filling. Before you jump into the recipe, check out her pro tip: “Making your chocolate-lined crust early saves time, but don’t make your filling early. Once you chill the filling in the fridge, it takes longer to bake in the oven, which means that by the time the filling sets, your crust will be burnt.”

Black-Bottom Walnut Pie

For the crust:

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped1/4 cup heavy cream1 frozen pie shell, from Ginger & Cardamom Apple Pie recipe

For the filling:

1 cup light corn syrup2 large eggs, beaten1/4 cup light brown sugar2 Tbsp all-purpose flour2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted1 Tbsp molasses1 tsp vanilla extract1/4 tsp kosher salt2 cups walnut halves

Make dough and line a pie pan as instructed in Ginger & Cardamom Apple Pie. Freeze unbaked pie shell. When shell is completely frozen, make the black-bottom layer. Place chocolate in a small heatproof bowl and set aside. Pour heavy cream small into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high until hot, 30 to 45 seconds. Pour cream over chocolate, stirring until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Spread chocolate mixture in an even layer on bottom of frozen pie shell. Return pie shell to the freezer, uncovered, and freeze until hard, at least 1 hour or as long as overnight.

Make the filling and assemble the pie. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, stir together corn syrup, eggs, brown sugar, flour, butter, molasses, vanilla and salt. Remove prepared pie shell from freezer. Sprinkle walnuts over chocolate layer, then pour corn syrup mixture over walnuts.

Bake pie until edges are set, about 1 hour. Transfer pie to a wire rack to cool completely, about 4 hours.