Amaretti Chocolate Pie with Strawberry Whipped Cream

This is, I think, my favorite chocolate-based dessert I've ever made.  I love the combination of chocolate, strawberries, and almonds (perhaps more than any other earthly mix).  This is an adaptation of Giada's Brownie-Walnut Pie, which, although delicious in its own right, isn't quite as good as my version, I dare to say!  With Amaretti cookies for its crust and a chocolate filling laden with sliced almonds, I'm not sure that anything could be better than this.

And while this pie might be scrumptious with other toppings, too, I think the strawberries really make it what it is.  So, I'm giving you the Beatles's "Strawberry Fields Forever", a song that's both colorful and beautiful (and also my favorite from their late-1967 album, Magical Mystery Tour).  

Crust:
--6 oz. Amaretti cookies (I used Balocco Amaretti cookies, but any brand would do, and you can buy these from any Italian import store or even from some local grocers)
--1/2 stick chilled and chopped unsalted butter
--1/4 c. dark brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a food processor, pulse the cookies, butter, and sugar.  Form this "dough" into a glass pie dish so that it fills the dish, coming up onto the edges.  Bake for approx 15 minutes, or until just golden.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.

You can make your whipped cream next and chill it while your pie is baking.

Strawberry-Amaretto Whipped Cream:

--1 c. heavy whipping cream

--1/2 c. granulated sugar

--1/2 c. Amaretto liqueur

--1 c. chopped strawberries

--a few strawberries, sliced, for garnish

Beat whipping cream, sugar, liqueur, and chopped strawberries on high until mixture forms stiff peaks.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Batter:
--6 oz. dark chocolate rounds
--6 tbsp. unsalted butter
--1 1/4 c. dark brown sugar
--3/4 c. cake flour
--3 large eggs, at room temperature
--pinch of salt
--1/2 c. sliced almonds (you could use more or less, depending on your preference)
--approx. 1/4 c. whole almonds, for garnish

In a double boiler (you can also use a glass bowl sitting on top of a smaller pot with boiling water), melt the chocolate and butter while whisking it together (you want to keep them over heat until they're just melted--no longer than that, or your chocolate will burn).  

Remove from heat, and mix in brown sugar.  Check to ensure that batter has cooled (it should have cooled sufficiently after mixing in the brown sugar).  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Then mix in flour and salt, followed by the sliced almonds.  Pour batter into the baked Amaretti crust, and place whole almonds around the edges as decoration.  Bake on top of a cookie sheet for approx. 35 minutes, or until the edges have puffed.  As Giada says, your cake tester will come out of the center still a bit gooey when the pie is done--don't over-bake!