Peanut Butter French Silk Tart with Ritz Cracker Crust

I don’t cook desserts often, but when I do, I DO desserts. No shortcuts. No “easy” ways out. Homemade fillings. From-scratch crusts. Nearly always over-the-top.

One of the contributory factors in my conscious decision to hold back on the desserts I share here, is I really don’t have a huge sweet tooth – one of the reasons I gave it up for Lent. I crave it on a weekly basis, but for the most part, I’m not daydreaming about cookies, cakes and candy on the daily.

Admittedly, I have one dessert weakness, one which I can never ever say no to.

Pies and Tarts.

And cakes from here and here (the most delicious wedding cake on the planet, and yes where mine was from), but that’s a whole other story.

During the 40 days of Lent I said no to cupcakes, cookies and candy without batting an eyelash, but when I strolled passed the prepared pies at the grocery store, I had to have a little pep talk with myself, and then physically steer my cart and wandering eyes towards the produce and away from temptation.

Coconut Cream Pie.

Lemon Meringue Pie.

Pecan Pie.

Strawberry Pie.

Banana Cream Pie.

Each one is a huge temptation, because I love them ALL..

Each time a new pie is cranked out of my kitchen, I deem it my new favorite, and today’s Peanut Butter French Silk Pie is certainly no exception.

The second Lent was over, I immediately perused through my handy dandy idea journal and saw this little gem of an idea, loitering in between croque monsieur pop tarts (coming next week) and a unique spin on a sticky bun I’m dying to crank out.

For me, French Silk pie needs no favors in the flavor department. Its rich, dense chocolate-y essence is matched perfectly with a light as air and sweet, but not too sweet topping of freshly whipped cream, harmonizing together to create the perfect dessert. However, with that said, I do believe that chocolate + peanut butter is always a combination that can take any dessert to the next level, so that’s what I did.

I’m not going to lie to you, this pie has quite a few steps, and at first glance of viewing the recipe, you might want to run for the hills when you see how many dishes I’m going to make you dirty up, but honestly it doesn’t take long to pull the whole thing together, and the end results are worth every single dirty bowl, measuring spoon and whisk – pinky swear.

So, first the crust. Pretty much the most addictive thing on the planet which has single-handedly prompted me to leave graham crackers crust in the dust. Ritz cracker crumbs pulverized together with a little bit of sugar, lots of melted butter and then pressed into a buttered tart pan. There will be leftover crust, and you will eat it.

Next, the filling. A heavenly mixture of chocolate, eggs, butter, sugar, peanut butter and whipped cream.

Definitely not health food in the slightest. But worth every single calorie.

It’s rich, but not but not overly rich. It’s sweet, but not too sweet. Dense, yet light. And the perfect proportion of chocolate to peanut butter.

To make the filling, melted chocolate is whisked together with an egg and sugar mixture, then beaten with a hand mixer with a stick of softened butter and creamy peanut butter until it’s super thick. I like my filling to be on the lighter side, so I fold in a half a cup or so of freshly whipped cream to aerate the filling a bit.

The chocolate peanut butter mixture is poured into the prepared crust, topped with copious amounts of whipped cream and then popped into the fridge to chill. Once it’s ready to be served, I cover it in shaved chocolate and crushed peanuts.

Serve and watch it disappear.