This version of French Silk pie puts coffee grounds to use in two different ways: straight-up in a chocolate cookie crust, and more subtly infusing a whipped-cream topping. (That second option is a good one to remember—you can infuse milk or cream with grounds for drinking, pouring on cereal, turning into ice cream, etc.) When brewed coffee is used in baked goods, it can sometimes disappear, its own flavor taking a backseat to others, like, say chocolate. That’s not the case with this pie. Since the crust is only baked for 10 minutes, the coffee flavor stays clear and strong, a true equal to the chocolate.

Ingredients

Coffee (Grounds) Whipped Topping

• 1/2 cup spent coffee grounds (see Cook’s Notes for more)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Chocolate-Coffee (Grounds) Crust

• 1/4 cup spent coffee grounds (see Cook’s Notes for more)
• 2 cups crushed chocolate cookies (see Cook’s Notes for more)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

French Silk Pie Filling

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 10 ounces Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 large eggs

Procedure

1. For the whipped topping: Combine 1/2 cup coffee grounds and 1 cup heavy cream in a container with a lid (like a glass jar) and refrigerate to infuse the flavor—2 hours if you’re impatient, or up to 12 if you’ve got time to burn.
2. Strain the cream, using cheesecloth or a super-fine mesh sieve, and discard the grounds. Add the powdered sugar to the cream, whip until soft peaks form, and refrigerate until needed.
3. For the crust: Heat the oven to 375° F.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the crushed cookie crumbs and the remaining 1/4 cup coffee grounds, then drizzle in the melted butter and stir to coat everything in butter (it might not clump at all, that’s okay!). 
5. Dump the buttery crumbs into the pie plate and press to form an even crust. (I like to use a measuring cup to do this, but fingers work, too). Place the pie plate in the freezer while you wait for the oven to finish heating up.
6. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.
7. For the filling: Whip the 1/2 cup heavy cream until soft peaks form, then cover and refrigerate the whipped cream until needed. 
8. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or with a double boiler, and set aside to cool slightly.
9. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and cream until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 
10. Add in the cooled chocolate and vanilla and whisk again until combined. 
11. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 5 minutes after each addition, and then fold in the reserved plain whipped cream.
12. Pour the filling into cooled crust, spread it out, then top with the coffee-flavored whipped cream. Refrigerate to set, at least 2 hours or overnight.

Cook’s Notes

• For the coffee grounds, any grind will do: I’ve made this with coarse grounds from a French press as well as fine grounds from a drip coffeemaker. While the grind won’t impact the results, the quality of the coffee will, a high-quality coffee will lend a lot of flavor to the final pie, older, less flavorful beans, not as much. I enjoy the very pronounced coffee flavor that you get from the grounds from fresh beans, but if you’re wary of too much of a good thing, you can always dial back the coffee flavor by only using a couple of tablespoons of grounds in the crust if desired. 
• As written, this recipe requires planning ahead to allow time to make coffee (ground)-infused whipped cream. If you don’t want to wait, feel free to top your pie with plain whipped cream instead. 
• For the chocolate cookies, any crunchy chocolate variety will work, whether wafer-shaped or otherwise (I used Field Day Cocoa Chip Wildlife Friends Cookies). It will take about 9 ounces to get the 2 cups of cookie crumbs you need. I crush them in a mini food processor, but a zip-top bag and a rolling pin works, too.