Friday, November 27, 2009

Chocolate Angel Pie



It’s interesting to me how traditions get started. My sister was married over 35 years ago (I’m not saying how old I was at the time—suffice to say I was a junior bridesmaid at that shindig). It was an interesting blend of two cultures, she being a Dutch baker’s daughter and he being the son of a successful  Milwaukee businessman. As such, she acquired a slew of new traditions that she naturally shared with me, her tag along little sister. I don’t think she realizes how much of an influence she had on my ability, and frankly my love of, baking. Of the many recipes she learned from her husband’s family, my favorite has always been the Chocolate Angel Pie. They served it at all of their holiday functions and, in keeping with tradition, my sister served it at all of hers….and taught me how to make it as well.

Chocolate Angel Pie


Crust:

• 4 egg whites, room temp.
• 1/4 t. cream of tartar
• 1 cup sugar

 Filling:

• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 4 egg yolks*
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 egg whites, stiffly beaten
• 1 (8 oz)container non-dairy whipped topping, thawed (you can use real whipped cream for this step, if you prefer)
• 1 cup whipping cream



Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Grease 9" deep glass pie plate. (I spray it well with cooking spray)

Beat 4 egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy. Add sugar gradually, beating until stiff and glossy.

Spread meringue in pie plate, making a "well" in the middle for filling. (I won't show you how to make the crust again, but here is the link: Lemon Angel Pie)

Bake in 300 degree oven for 1 hour. Turn off heat and keep meringue in oven for at least one hour, preferably overnight.

Put chocolate chips in medium sized microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute to 1 minute 20 seconds or until chocolate is melted (be careful not to burn them--the chips will retain their shape).


Add egg yolks and beat with electric mixer until smooth.


Let chocolate mixture cool, and then add vanilla (or for an extra kick, add a little Kaluha). Fold in beaten egg whites, and then thawed whipped topping, mixing well.


(This doesn't look quite as good as the lemon one yet, does it? Just wait...)



(Better...)



(Now doesn't this look good?)

Pour filling into pie shell, cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours.



Just before serving, whip whipping cream with 1 T. powdered sugar, and top pie. Garnish with chocolate curls, if desired.

*For safety reasons, I have adapted this recipe over the years. I used to use the raw eggs in the filling and I have never had a problem, but I can't take a chance and serve it to anyone else with that risk. I use regular egg whites for the crust and pasturized egg yolks for the filling. The filling also has two beaten egg whites which I like to use for volume. For this I use powdered egg whites. That step is optional. It is kind of a pain to use three different egg sources, but this pie is very much worth it!





Enjoy!



Chocolate Angel Pie on Foodista

10 comments:

  1. Cathy--this looks amazing! thank you for posting!

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  2. wow,it's almost a chocolate-pavlova cake!

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  3. I love the layers of the crust, chocolate and cream. Other than the letting it set which takes hours, how long did it take you to make the cake itself?

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  4. OMG, this looks heavenly goodness! Nice to meet you, Cathy! You've a very lovely blog. Will check out other recipes slow...ly! Have a nice day. Cheers.

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  5. wow...thats one big fluff of goodness! I just finished dinner and I need dessert....gimme

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  6. oh my that looks divine!! I would love to have a slice of that right now

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  7. Why, thank you for the nice comments, everyone!

    Nice to meet you, too, Little Space.

    Chocolate Priestess--the pie would literally take only minutes to make if we didn't have a bake time and a chill time. It is that easy. If you're not afraid of raw eggs, it's even easier.

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  8. I had to hunt this down! My recipe is a bit different but I think yours has more filling, so I'm going to have to try it soon!!!

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    1. I'd love to see your version, Liz--I'll bet it's awesome! :)

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