Grandma Thornton's Chocolate Meringue Pie

As a kid, every time I went to visit my Grandma Thornton, I would beg her to make Chocolate Meringue Pie. It was my favorite. I hadn't had it in forever and when she was in town a few weeks ago, I asked her to make it for me. However, this time, instead of getting to work in the kitchen, she gave me the recipe with the hope that I would be able to accomplish it myself. I figured I was ready for the challenge, but it is actually not an easy recipe. In fact, if I'm going to be entirely honest, I had to make it twice. For my first attempt the filling did not set up right and the pie ended up a big chocolate soup. Although I had no idea what went wrong, I was determined to get it right. I headed back to the market to purchase all of the ingredients again to give it another try. The second time was a success! The pie turned out just as perfect as I always remembered it to be. I have no idea what I did wrong the first time, but that just goes to show how delicate this pie recipe is. If you are brave enough to try it, I promise once you get it right, you won't regret the work. 

Ingredients
3/4 cups Sugar
5 Tbsp Baking Cocoa
3 Tbsp Cornstarch
1/2 tsp Salt
2 cups Milk
3 Eggs, separate the yolks and whites
1/4 tsp Cream of Tarter
6 Tbsp Sugar (for the Meringue)
1 Pie Shell

 

Directions

In a sauce pan, mix 3/4 cups of sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually add the 2 cups of milk. Cook on medium-high heat stirring constantly until the mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Reduce heat and continue to cook and stir for 2 additional minutes. Remove from heat. In a separate bowl, fluff 3 egg yolks. Take 1 cup of the chocolate filling and mix it in with the egg yolks. Return to sauce pan and bring to a gentle boil. Once the mixture has reached a boil, continue to cook for 2 additional minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

When I have the time, I make my own pie crust. However, I am a big fan of the Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts. They taste homemade and are great if you are crunched for time or don't feel like messing with homemade. If using pre-made pie crusts, unroll the dough into the pie pan and bake the crust according to the instructions. I like to experiment with various types of decorative pie crust crimping. My favorite is the fluted pinched edge. After the pie crust has been baked, remove it from the oven and pour in the hot chocolate filling. Next we move on to the meringue.

 

 Creating this tenuous topping is a precarious task best left to experienced bakers. Since in my case I didn't have much of an option, I just had to jump in and trust the recipe. First you start by beating the egg whites and cream of tarter with a hand mixer for quite a long, long time until soft peaks begin to form. Gradually add the 6 tablespoons of sugar and continue to beat the mixture until it becomes stiff and glossy. This can take a little bit of patience and some knowledge of meringue chemistry. The quality of your meringue can be affected by the age and quality of the egg and even the temperature outside! But stick with it. Every meringue I have made (which isn't very many) has came out just a little different. Once you have reached a meringue-like consistency, spread it out evenly over the hot chocolate filling sealing the meringue to the pie crust.

 

 Bake the pie at 350 for about 15 minutes taking care to not burn the meringue top. My grandma suggests getting a chair and placing it in front of the oven and watching it, turning it slightly if one meringue tip starts to brown unevenly. This was nearly impossible for me to do with two little kids, but I think I prefer the irregularity of a uneven meringue. It gives the pie a bit of personality.

 

Ed's Verdict: Sometimes I make things just for myself. This was pretty much one of those times. Ed had a piece and thought it was good. However, I will admit that over the course of the next three days, I ate the entire rest of the pie all by myself. It tasted so gratifyingly rich and familiar, I couldn't stop myself from eating it.