
At Brochu’s Family Tradition in Savannah, GA—one of our Best New Restaurants of 2023—pastry chef Georgia Vinzant uses a house-made deep-dish pastry crust as the base for this delightful layered pie filled with ganache, vanilla semifreddo, and nuggets of cookie dough. But it is no less delicious (and far simpler) made with a store-bought graham cracker crust. Be sure to source a 10" crust—anything smaller will overflow. To make the process easier, break down the work over the course of a couple days: Make the cookie dough pieces and fill and freeze the ganache one day, and then finish assembling the next.
As the cookie dough in the pie is raw, we recommend using commercially heat-treated flour to avoid food safety concerns.
All products featured on Bon Appétit are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through the retail links below, we earn an affiliate commission.
What you’ll need
Heat-Treated Flour
$15 At dō
Stand Mixer
$330 $299 At Amazon
Scale
$26 At Amazon
Offset Spatula
$12 At Amazon
Medium Bowl
$17 At Amazon
Small Saucepan
$155 At Amazon
French Wire Whisk
$18 At Amazon
Rubber Spatula
$13 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour (not including chill times)
Yield
12 servings
Ingredients
Ganache
½
2
½
1¼
1
Cookie Dough
4
¼
1
½
2
1
⅓
Semifreddo and Assembly
1¾
1
4
⅓
1
1
½
Preparation
Ganache
Step 1
Place ½ cup (90 g) bittersweet chocolate chips in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring 2 Tbsp. light corn syrup, ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ½ cup heavy cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium, whisking occasionally. Pour over chocolate chips and whisk vigorously until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Add remaining ¾ cup heavy cream; stir with a rubber spatula to combine. Cover ganache with a lid or plate and chill at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
Step 2
Transfer chilled ganache to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium until medium peaks form, about 4 minutes. Scrape whipped ganache into one 10"-diameter store-bought graham cracker crust and smooth with an offset spatula or a spoon. Freeze (unwrapped is fine) until ganache is firm to the touch, about 1 hour.
Cookie Dough
Step 3
Beat 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature, ¼ cup (packed; 50 g) light brown sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium until very pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp. whole milk and mix on low until combined (it may look curdled), about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl, add 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour, preferably commercially heat treated, and mix just until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add ⅓ cup (60 g) bittersweet chocolate chips and mix, scraping down bottom and sides of bowl, until combined.
Step 4
Scrape dough onto a large sheet of plastic and wrap loosely. Roll out to ¼" thick, keeping contained in plastic. Freeze just until solid, about 1 hour.
Step 5
Transfer dough to a cutting board; remove and discard plastic wrap. Cut dough into ¼" cubes (they don’t need to be perfect). Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to use.
Semifreddo and Assembly
Step 6
Beat ¾ cup heavy cream and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium until medium peaks form; transfer to a small bowl. Cover whipped cream and chill.
Step 7
Place 4 large egg yolks and ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar in same stand mixer bowl (no need to wash) and whisk by hand to vigorously combine. Place bowl over a small saucepan of gently simmering water (make sure bowl does not touch water) and cook, whisking constantly, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch, 6–8 minutes. Remove from heat and fit bowl on stand mixer. Attach whisk and beat egg mixture on high speed until very light, thick, and room temperature, 5–7 minutes. Whisk in 1 Tbsp. crème de cacao and 1 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract. Add one third of reserved whipped cream and, using a large rubber spatula, gently fold until combined. Add remaining whipped cream in 2 batches, folding to combine after each. Add cookie dough pieces and mix gently to incorporate.
Step 8
Scrape semifreddo over ganache in crust; smooth surface with offset spatula (crust will be very full). Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly onto surface, and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours.
Step 9
When ready to serve, let pie sit at room temperature 10 minutes, then cut into 12 wedges.
Step 10
Meanwhile, beat remaining 1 cup heavy cream and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in the clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Pile whipped cream on top of pie, swirling to cover filling. Chill in freezer 10 minutes.
Step 11
Sprinkle ½ cup chocolate puffed rice cereal on top to serve.
Do Ahead: Pie (without toppings) can be made 3 days ahead. Keep frozen.
Leave a Review