Dark Chocolate Walnut Pie

If you like chocolate, this tart is irresistible! The filling is smooth and very chocolaty, but is made of a combination of vanilla custard and melted chocolate. This means it's slightly less bad for you than you think! You can also feel good about it's inclusion of walnuts, which are packed with nutrients.

As you can see, my crust shrunk a fair amount when baking. I feel that the imperfection acts as proof of its homemade-ness! Life's too short to worry about a shrunken crust...

Adapted from the March 2013 issue of delicious. magazine.

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. butter, chopped
1 c. + 2 tbsp. milk (2% or whole)
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. walnuts
2 tablespoons honey
200 g. dark chocolate, broken up
1/4 c. butter

Prepare the crust by combining the flour and sugar. Add the pieces of butter and, using two knives, cut-up the butter until it becomes course crumbs. Add 1/3 cup of cold water and stir until the dough just comes together. Shape into a ball, flatten, and cover in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup milk and 2 tbsp. sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Combine the remaining 2 tbsp. milk and cornstarch, stirring well to eliminate lumps. Add the slurry to the saucepan, reduce heat to low and stir constantly until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add the vanilla and set aside.

Place the chocolate and 1/4 c. of butter in a heat-proof bowl. Place the bowl over a small sauce pan of simmering water. Be careful not to let the bowl touch the water. Stir the chocolate and butter until melted. Remove from heat. Once cooled a bit, combine with the custard.

Roll out the dough then transfer to a pie dish or pan. Use parchment paper to line the dough and fill with half the walnuts. Bake for 10 minutes. Replace the toasted walnuts with remaining. Bake another 10 minutes. Remove the nuts and paper and bake the empty crust for a further 10 minutes.

Set aside 15-20 of the nicest walnuts to garnish. Roughly chop the rest, combine with the honey and place in the pie shell. Carefully pour in the chocolate custard. Arrange the remaining walnuts on top. Refrigerate for a couple hours before serving.

Serves 10 if you have better willpower than me! (Mine served 8...)