Honey Walnut Chocolate Glazed Pie
Photo courtesy of Francine Segan.
This honey walnut pie is a specialty of Emilia-Romagna, especially Modena, and is traditionally served during festive times. It dates to at least the 17th c but back then it was made without chocolate or rum, New World ingredients that were incorporated into the recipe in the 19th c.
In Modena, near the Piazza Grande, is a life size statue of a simply dressed woman that dates to 1468. Local refer to the stature as la Bonissima—"the Good One”— in honor of a legendary wealthy medieval woman who gave all her riches to feed Modena’s poor during a famine and inspired the name of one of the city’s favorite dessert.
Serves 8
1. If using homemade pie crust, make the crust, and when ready, roll out the dough to create a bottom and a top crust.
2. For both homemade and store-bought, before lining the pie pan with the bottom crust, sprinkle the breadcrumbs on the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan, and then line the pie pan with dough. Using a fork, poke lots of holes into the bottom and sides of the dough.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
4. In a bowl, combine the walnuts, honey, and rum and stir until combined.
5. The filling mixture will be liquidy but will soak into the crust during baking. Pour the filling into the prepared pan and top with the top crust. Do not crimp the edges as we do in the States, but rather, cut off the crusts flush with the edge of the pan.
6. Bake for about 40 minutes until the crust is golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
7. Put the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan heat the cream until very warm, then pour over the chocolate, stirring until the chocolate melts. Then stir in the butter. Once the chocolate glaze cools a bit, spread over the top of the pie.
