Overloaded Cumin Chocolate

It wasn't my intent for the chocolate to taste like cumin. It just so happened that the chocolate chunks were sitting beside cumin in the cupboard, even though both items were enclosed in cheap plastic bulk bags. Unfortunately, my friends and I found that out after the Double Bottom Chocolate Strawberry Pecan Pie was made. I searched online afterward and there are recipes that include chocolate and cumin. Just when you thought two ingredients don't mix together, someone has already tried it. For me, it was more harm done.

I did, however, added a pinch of cayenne pepper to the melted chocolate which supposedly enhanced the chocolate flavor. I couldn't tell the difference. It's probably something that I should experiment.

There were a few things wrong with this pie beside the cumin chocolate:
-it was overloaded,
-the crust shrunk, and
-the glaze didn't come out as I hoped.

I added 100g of strawberries this time and it turned out to be too much. As of result, I had to melt more chocolate to compensate for the additional strawberries.

My friend showed me the double boiler method for melting chocolate. It was easier than I thought and you could taste more chocolate too. The last time I made this pie, I added boiling water to the chocolate which diluted the flavor. Combining the strawberries and chocolate however, made the pie a little runny. This is likely due to the water content of the strawberries. Fortunately, it didn't soften the crust but thickening agent is required.

I also pricked the holes with a fork instead of cutting out the steam vents. The result was much better than the last time as it didn't pent up.

Unfortunately, the crust shrunk so much which didn't help the overloading problem. This could have been due to overworking the dough when I was kneading it. I think it's because I didn't let the crust relax in the fridge after rolling it out. After I quickly rolled the pie crust out, I immediately put the pie in the oven. By leaving the crust relax, the stretched gluten eventually loses its elastic bond and thus, breaking the network between the molecules.

I didn't use any thickening agent for the glaze this time. It just didn't turn out good so I'm taking that out for my next pie.