Lizzie and I have been taking advantage of the weather every morning, so my baking has been pushed back a bit. For instance, this pie didn’t get made until 4:00 PM yesterday. By that time, I wasn’t really in a baking mood, but I needed to make Todd a dessert and I had all the ingredients on hand for this pie. So this one was sort of an afterthought, but it turned out to be the best chocolate pie yet.
It would have been fun to make this with my new favorite meringue – the one with the cornstarch gel and the marshmallow cream, but I decided to keep it simple and just used the basic egg white, sugar and vanilla recipe. The little beads formed on top right away, but nobody cared because the pie was so good.
Unlike the last pie I made which seeped a little when I cut into it and tasted too much like pudding in pie form, this was one very stiff and had a great structure. I think the flour might have helped with that. The original version of this pie (adapted from Meta Givens) did not use the extra tablespoon of cocoa powder. I added it, but I think it would have been fine without it because it was very chocolaty.
For the crust, I used a Cooks Illustrated recipe, but you could use a store-bought or even a good graham cracker crust.
- 3 large egg whites
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened natural or Dutch cocoa powder**
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cups milk – scalded (I did this in microwave)
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 ounces finely chopped unsweetened chocolate
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pie shell, baked and ready to be filled
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prep all filling ingredients, then make the meringue first so you’ll have it ready to put on a hot filling. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating on high, until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla. Set aside.
- Mix the flour, sugar cocoa powder and salt together in a heavy saucepan. Set the pan over medium heat and gradually whisk in the hot milk. Continue whisking and cooking until mixture starts to thicken. Whisk about half cup of the milk mixture into the egg yolks, then add egg/milk mixture back to saucepan and whisk for about two minutes. It should become thick and make big bubbles. Remove from heat and whisk in butter, chocolate and vanilla. Pour hot chocolate mixture into pie shell and cover with the meringue, sealing the edges well.
- Set the pie on a cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes. Cool at room temperature for an hour, then chill for 4 hours or until pie is set.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Timely post — I’ve been thinking about chocolate pie lately and this recipe looks perfect. I always make chocolate puddings with a combination of cocoa powder and unsweetened chocolate — the combination of the two just seems to make the pudding taste better. I imagine its true with the pie filling too. I’m not a meringue fan, so I would have to find something else for topping the pie. Hummm….ice cream or whipped cream?
Yep, Chooey and I are taking advantage of the nice weather as well
Love the chocolate!
Lucky Todd! I would have just made one bowl brownies!
Yum!
Missed ya yesterday, but yes, the weather is too good to pass up here, too!
I’m not a huge fan of chocolate pies, but the rest of the fam goes nuts for them. I’ll have to try this one out. I do however, LOVE meringue!
Do you know I have a pie contest running through the end of the month–most nutritious pie you have to eat if you’re stuck for a bit…Chocolate is one of ‘em. Doesn’t surprise me. Meringue intimidates me. Was it hard to do? No mixer. Wonder if a blender would do the trick? Good job. I’m envious and just about ready to stop the detox diet and make some chocolate…
(I did make a double crust apple pie the other day. It’s such a good feeling when you put a pie in the oven–and it looks like it’s going to work.) And when it’s gone within a couple of days you know it worked.
http://www.calorey.blogspot.com The Writing Gourmet
Oh wow…that looks yummy!
This pie came out so delicious! I am not a good baker or anything, but i followed the recipe and it’s very hard to screw up. I will be making this again!
Gayil, thanks so much for trying the pie and posting a review. I’m glad it was a success.
I need to know if the BestYet Unsweetened Cocoa is Dutch Processed, or not. Does anybody know?
Vibeke, it relaly depends on what you are making and what type of flavor you want. In baking, it (often) matters what type of cocoa powder you use chemically because natural is acidic and Dutch is not. In a pie like this one, you could use whichever flavor appeals to you. And flavor varies among brands. Here in Austin, the most common flavor of Dutch process is Hershey’s Dark, but it has a very distinct flavor and look. Some of the European brands might be milder and less intense. If you want to get a good high end cocoa powder, look for Scharffen Berger or Valrhona.
This is essentially the same recipe that my grandma has been using for years. It is my absolute favorite desert, and has always been associated in my mind with trips to grandmas house. I have experimented with varying the types of choclolate and adding other ingerdients. One on my favorites is to use dark chocolate, and small dolops of penut butter. I fill the crust about halfway, then add dolops of peanut butter, then cover and fill the rest of the way up. Kinda like a peanut butter cup pie.
Hi Todd,
Thanks for the peanut butter tip! I’ll have to try that one day.
Great pie! I made it today and the filing was amazing. I sealed the pie up nicely but it still leaked liquid. I might have to turn this into a chocolate cream pie. Fantastic though!! Cheers!