Joanna's Cranberry Dark Chocolate Holiday Pie
Our baking friend Joanna Waldman of Thetford Center, Vermont, asked us recently if we had a good recipe for a cranberry dark chocolate tart. No, actually, we didn’t… but that’s easily remedied! If you like chocolate-covered cranberries, this pie is for you.
Cranberry topping
1 cup (7 1/2 ounces) sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) cranberry juice
1 cup (6 ounces) dried cranberries
12-ounce package fresh or frozen cranberries
Bring the sugar, salt, and cranberry juice to a boil. Stir in the dried cranberries, then the fresh or frozen berries. Simmer gently for 10 to 12 minutes, or until about half the berries have popped. Remove from the heat, and cool to room temperature. Yield: 4 cups.
You’ll need about 15 ounces (a scant 2 cups) sauce for the pie; enjoy the remainder on its own.
Crust
1 3/4 cups (about 5 1/4 ounces) graham cracker crumbs*
1/4 cup (1 ounce) confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) melted butter
*One cellophane-wrapped packet of graham crackers (11 whole crackers) will yield this amount of crumbs.
Process the crackers, sugar, and melted butter in a food processor till crumbly and well combined. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9" pie pan. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for about 7 to 8 minutes, until it’s set, but not brown. Remove from the oven and cool.
Filling
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate*
2/3 cup (5 3/8 ounces) heavy cream
3/4 cup (3 ounces) diced walnuts or pecans, toasted in a 350°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes
*Resist the urge to use bittersweet chocolate; with the acidic tang of the cranberries, it’s just too much. You want a dark chocolate that’s noticeably sweet; most chocolate chips will be fine. We prefer Peter’s Burgundy chunks.
Put the chips and cream in a microwave-safe container, and heat for about 90 seconds. Remove from the microwave, and stir till the mixture becomes smooth and dark brown. You’re simply making a basic ganache.
Assembly: Spoon the hot ganache into the cooled crust, and sprinkle the toasted nuts on top. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, probably 2, till the ganache has firmed up. Once the ganache is set, top with the cranberry sauce.
Yield: 1 pie, 8 to 10 servings.
Reviews
12/16/2009
This was spectacular, both in looks and taste. While it was a bit time consuming in preparation, it was well worth it. One possible shortcut would be to use a prepared graham cracker crust, though the homemade one was wonderful. And, I think that if I were taking this someplace I'd pack the cranberries separately and add them to the pie when I arrived so as not to get damaged in transport. But it was delicious.
11/29/2009
All 7 women at dinner have requested this recipe -- 14 out of 14 positive responses (without knowing who prepared it). Takes a little time to set up but actual time to prepare is minimum. I did add whipped cream and shaved chocolate on top at last minute but only because I had extra heavy cream from something else. It really didn't need it!! Awesome pie and will stay in my box for years to come. All organic too.
11/27/2009
I made this pie for the first time on the day before Thanksgiving and took it to my brother's house the next day. Everyone LOVED this pie and there was only one small piece left, which I'm sure disappeared quickly! I'm not fond of semi-sweet chocolate, but it was perfect with the cranberries, and the toasted walnuts added a nice crunch. One of my relatives said it was almost like eating a chocolate covered cherry pie! Not only was this pie delicious, but it was super easy to make! The next time I need to bring a dessert to a holiday party, this pie will be one of the things I take!
11/25/2009
I made this recipe with the ingredients I had on hand. I followed the recipe exactly as written for the crust and chocolate base, but had to make adjustments for the cranberry topping. I used orange juice in place of cranberry juice and dried cherries in place of dried cranberries. The pie was fantastic and so easy to make. Loved it!
01/29/2009
I also made this pie using Raspberries instead of the fresh cranberries. Fresh cranberries were not available yet. I followed the recipe for the topping, but added frozen raspberries in the last few minutes of the cooking time. The pie was spectacular and got rave reviews from my dinner guests!
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