The Cookbook

Crust

* 6 oz / 170 g graham crackers (US)/digestives (UK) — see note
* 2 oz / 50 g unsalted butter

Line a pie tin (mine is marked as 8-inch) with aluminium/tin foil, leaving the foil high over the top to aid you in getting it out later. A loose bottom pie tin makes this a lot easier.

Crush the cookies into dust; I put them into a plastic bag and attack them with a rolling pin, which works quickly and helps to reduce feelings of aggression.

Melt the butter and mix it into the cookie crumbs until they are all moistened, adding more butter if needed. Pack the resulting damp (but not wet) mixture into the bottom of the pie tin.

Note: This simple “cookie crust” will work with any type of hard cookie/biscuit such as digestives, gingersnaps, bourbon biscuits, even chocolate chip cookies as long as they are very dry and crunchy. You can also use any sort of bought sweet crust as long as you pre-bake it before making the cake.

Pie – stage 1

* 8 oz/ 225 g Dark Chocolate
* 2 oz / 50 g unsalted butter
* 2 tbsp brandy or rum
* 50 ml / 1/4 cup cream
* 1 egg, separated

melting chocolateBreak up the chocolate and melt it carefully in a small saucepan with the butter and the alcohol. Stir in the cream. As it finishes melting, stir the egg yolk into the chocolate mixture. Remove from heat. Quickly whip up the egg white until it stands in peaks and carefully fold it into the chocolate mixture.

Pour this into the pie tin over the crust and put the pie into the refrigerator to cool; at least one hour.

Pie – stage 2

* 4 heaping tablespoons of strawberry or cherry jam
* 8 oz/ 225 g White Chocolate
* 2 oz / 50 g unsalted butter
* 2 tbsp brandy or rum
* 50 ml / 1/4 cup cream
* 1 egg

Heat the jam in the microwave for 10 seconds to make it more easily spreadable. Brush/smear the jam over the dark chocolate in the pie tin. Return the pie to the ‘fridge.

Make the white chocolate mix exactly as you did the dark chocolate:

Break up the chocolate and melt it carefully in a small saucepan with the butter and the alcohol. Stir in the cream. As it finishes melting, stir the egg yolk into the chocolate mixture. Remove from heat. Quickly whip up the egg white until it stands in peaks and carefully fold it into the chocolate mixture.

Pour this into your pie plate and put the pie into the refrigerator to cool; again at least one hour. You can put it into the freezer to hurry things along; if it freezes solid just let it sit out for 20 minutes before serving.

It looks very posh if you then dust it with cocoa or chocolate shavings. Then very carefully pull it out of the pie tin, peel off the foil and serve in small slices.