Chocolate Truffle Pie

Ingredients

The crust:

• 1 cup ground Amaretto di Saronna cookie crumbs
• 1 cup ground graham cracker crumbs
• 8 tablespoons melted polyunsaturated margarine

Chocolate truffle cream filling:

• 1 ½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• ⅔ cup low-fat milk
• 5 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons for garnish
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup Amaretto di Saronna liqueur
• ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ¼ cups part-skim ricotta cheese, pureed until smooth in a blender

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)

    517 calories; 27 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 49 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 31 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 20 milligrams cholesterol; 288 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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10 servings

Preparation

The crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a medium-size bowl and mix well. Empty the mixture into an 8 1/2-inch heart-shaped tart form set on a large baking sheet. Press the crumbs against the bottom and sides of the form to make an even layer, then refrigerate the crust 15 minutes.
3. Bake the crust 15 minutes or until crisp and dry. Cool thoroughly then fill with the chocolate truffle cream.

Chocolate truffle cream filling:

1. Combine the gelatin with the cold water in a small bowl and set aside 5 minutes to allow the gelatin to soften.
2. Put the milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; stir frequently. Remove from the heat, add the nonfat dry milk powder and blend. Immediately add the chocolate and 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar. Cover and set aside 5 minutes, allowing the chocolate to melt.
3. Empty the chocolate mixture into a medium-size bowl. Add the vanilla extract, Amaretto and gelatin and stir until smooth; cover, set aside and allow to come to room temperature.
4. Add all but 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to the cooled chocolate and stir to mix. Fold in the pureed ricotta cheese. Remove 2/3 cup of this mixture, add the remaining cocoa powder to it and mix. Empty into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch star tip and set aside.
5. Evenly spread the remaining chocolate truffle cream in the Amaretto crust, then use the filled pastry bag to pipe chocolate waves around the inside edge of the pie crust.
6. Carefully transfer the pie to a serving platter and refrigerate 3 hours to firm the chocolate.
7. Just before serving, dust the top of the pie with the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons confectioners’ sugar.