My Brandy Alexander Pie

by Nigella

Introduction

This dessert has mixed parentage: I put a recipe for a Brandy Alexander cocktail into the Cookbook Corner section of the old website and almost immediately was tweeted about the wonderful creation that is a Brandy Alexander Pie; I asked said tweeter to post the recipe on nigella.com and she kindly and duly did. You can see ddelectables' recipe by clicking here and it inspired me to make my own version, by doctoring my Grasshopper Pie recipe from Kitchen.

For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.

Ingredients

Serves: 8-10

Metric Cups

For the Base

300 grams bourbon biscuits
50 grams good very dark chocolate (chopped)
50 grams soft butter

For the Filling

150 grams mini marshmallows
125 millilitres full fat milk
4 tablespoons brandy
4 tablespoons creme de cacao
375 millilitres double cream
a good grinding fresh nutmeg

For the Base

10 ounces oreo cookies
2 ounces good very bittersweet chocolate (chopped)
3 tablespoons soft butter

For the Filling

3 cups mini marshmallows
½ cup whole milk
¼ cup brandy
¼ cup creme de cacao
1½ cups heavy cream
a good grinding fresh nutmeg

Method

Process the biscuits/cookies and chocolate with the butter until the mixture starts to clump together.
Press into a high-sided 25cm/10 inch loose-bottomed flan tin and make a smooth base and sides with your hands or the back of a spoon. Put into the fridge to chill and harden.
Melt the marshmallows in a saucepan with the milk over a gentle heat, once the milk starts to foam (not boil) take off the heat and keep stirring until the marshmallows blend into the milk to make a smooth mixture.
Pour the mixture out of the saucepan into a bowl, and then whisk in the brandy and crème de cacao. Leave to cool.
Once the marshmallow mixture is no longer warm, whisk the cream until it starts to hold soft peaks then, still whisking, add the cooled marshmallow mix. The filling should be thick but still soft, not stiff or dry, and should fall or drop easily out of the bowl into the chilled pie crust.
Spread the filling into the tin, swirl it about with a palette knife to fill evenly, grate over some fresh nutmeg, generously enough to speckle the top, and put the assembled pie in the fridge to chill overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours.

Process the biscuits/cookies and chocolate with the butter until the mixture starts to clump together.
Press into a high-sided 25cm/10 inch loose-bottomed flan tin and make a smooth base and sides with your hands or the back of a spoon. Put into the fridge to chill and harden.
Melt the marshmallows in a saucepan with the milk over a gentle heat, once the milk starts to foam (not boil) take off the heat and keep stirring until the marshmallows blend into the milk to make a smooth mixture.
Pour the mixture out of the saucepan into a bowl, and then whisk in the brandy and crème de cacao. Leave to cool.
Once the marshmallow mixture is no longer warm, whisk the cream until it starts to hold soft peaks then, still whisking, add the cooled marshmallow mix. The filling should be thick but still soft, not stiff or dry, and should fall or drop easily out of the bowl into the chilled pie crust.
Spread the filling into the tin, swirl it about with a palette knife to fill evenly, grate over some fresh nutmeg, generously enough to speckle the top, and put the assembled pie in the fridge to chill overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours.

Additional Information

MAKE AHEAD / STORE:
The pie will keep for 3-4 days total but is at its best within 1-2 days. When the pie has chilled and the filling is firm, tent it with foil (try not to touch the surface of the pie as it will leave marks) and store in the fridge.

Tell us what you think

What 2 Others have said

I have a recipe for a Brandy Alexander cheesecake that is quite similar. It never fails to wow. Can’t wait to try this version.

Posted by OldGrayMare on 6th November 2019
Sounded so good I had to give it a try. WOW its delicious very easy to make and turned out perfect, cuts well without the base crumbling apart, centre stays set with a beautiful light marshmellow texture. Love the fact you can make it a day before. Thank You.

Posted by Philli7 on 8th April 2013