Walnut Fudge Pie a' la Mode with Hot Fudge Sauce

 

Walnut Fudge Pie a' la Mode with Hot Fudge Sauce
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 48.

Not really a pie but more like a brownie made in a pie plate, this is a thin and dense dessert enhanced by adding ice cream and hot fudge sauce. It baked beautifully.

I was not a fan of the Hot Fudge Sauce but I'm sure there are better ones our there (in fact, she herself has many recipes of chocolate sauces). This one tasted fine but, like she says, it hardens very quickly, almost instantaneously. You can refrigerate it but you must reheat it over hot water. I thought I had ruined my sauce pan after making it but I finally cleaned it by boiling vinegar and water in it for a few minutes.

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar (divide into 3/4 and 1/4 portions)
2 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons hot water
1/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup walnuts, broken into medium-sized pieces
Pinch of salt

Use the center rack and preheat the oven to 350. Line a 9-inch oven-proof glass pan with foil. Brush the foil with melted or soft butter.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot water. Set aside.

Beat the butter in mixer bowl until soft. Add the vanilla and 3/4 cup sugar (reserve the remaining 1/4 cup sugar). Beat for one minute.

Add the egg yolks and then the chocolate. Beat until smooth.

Add the hot water and then the flour, scraping the bowl as necessary.

Remove from the mixer and stir in the nuts.

Beat the egg whites until they hold a soft shape. Add the reserved 1/4 cup of sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is stiff (but not dry). Fold into the chocolate mixture. Spread into the pie plate.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. The cake will rise and then sink, causing a crust to form but the inside will be soft. Cool in the pan on a rack. After it has cooled, allow it to stand an additonal 1/2 to 1 hour. Invert and remove the foil and then replace the pie back into the glass pan.

Serve with ice cream and hot fudge sauce.

The recipe for the Hot Fudge Sauce follows. However, like I mentioned earlier, I would try another one.

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 teaspoon butter
1/3 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Over low heat, combine the chocolate, butter and water until smooth. Mix in the corn syrup and sugar.

Increase the heat to moderate and stir occasionally until it comes to a boil. Stop stirring and let it boil for 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and place the pan in water to stop the boiling. Stir in the vanilla.

Use it immediately while still warm or let it cool and reheat it over hot water.