Chocolate Cream Pie with Meringue Topping

My Grandmothers always believed if one dessert was good on a holiday table, three would be wonderful. So in keeping with family tradition, we always make three pies. And this one checks the box for the chocolate lovers in the group. This is possibly the best chocolate cream pie we’ve ever eaten, so good it will bring a tear to your eye. With its deep chocolate custard topped with a fluffy cloud of meringue, it’s the stuff dreams are made of.

It’s a bit different from a classic chocolate cream pie. Instead of starting on top of the stove, the chocolate filling is baked in the oven. The result is a rich, silky chocolate custard. Inside the pie you’ll find cocoa powder, sugar, eggs, half and half plus a splash of pure vanilla extract to enhance the chocolate. The ingredients are whisked together then baked inside a buttery, flaky pastry crust. And to finish, it’s topped with a luscious layer of meringue, baked until lightly golden.

Some tips we’ve learned along the way. For the pastry, we pulled up a version made with a blend of butter and shortening, along with vodka to replace some of the water. It’s a recipe that has been circulating for years and the results are quite wonderful. The vodka evaporates while cooking and leaves you with a very tender crust. But by all means, use your favorite.

We have always baked this pie in an unbaked pie shell but have run across many articles suggesting blind baking the crust before adding the filling. It helps gives the bottom of your crust a head start in baking. The edges browned more than they do without blind baking, and though more golden the flavor was not impacted. In baking another custard pie, we started by covering the edges with a pie shield, up until the last 10 minutes of final baking plus we reduced the pre-bake time with great results. We highly recommend pie shields, which can be found at most food markets or online.

Make the meringue while the pie is baking. You want to get it on the pie while it is piping hot and back into the oven. The heat from the pie filling will help to bake the meringue from the bottom up.

Meringue can be prone to “weep” and “beading”. Don’t fret over this. My Grandmother baked hundreds of pies and her meringue always did this, but it never, ever impacted the flavor! Adding dissolved cornstarch can definitely help so we’ve included it in this recipe. I’ve made meringue using so many different recipes and quite often my meringue still does the same – I just assume she has popped in to say hello!

This is simply our favorite chocolate pie.

Chocolate Cream Pie with Meringue Topping

For the pastry crust:

1-¼ cups flour, divided

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon sugar

6 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes and chilled in the freezer for at least 30 minutes

4 tablespoons shortening, chilled in the freezer for at least 30 minutes

2 tablespoons cold water

2 tablespoons vodka

In a food processor, add ¾ cup of the flour, the kosher salt and sugar, pulse about 8 to 10 times to mix together. Toss in the cold butter and shortening, then process for about 10 seconds, until the butter and shortening are blended into the flour and are in small pieces.

Add the remaining flour and blend in by pulsing about 4 times. Pour the cold water and the vodka over the flour mixture. Process by pulsing about 8 to 10 times, or just until the pastry dough start to come together. The dough will still be crumbly in appearance. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper.

Using the paper gently work the dough together and shape into round disk. Wrap it up in the parchment paper, drop it into a storage bag and refrigerate for 45 minutes to one hour. You can also keep the pastry dough refrigerated for 2 days then let it set out at room temperature for about 10 minutes to make it easier to roll. When you’re ready to roll out the piecrust, dust your surface and rolling pin with flour.

Gently roll the dough out until it’s ⅛” thick and around 12” to 14” in diameter. Place a 9” pie plate that’s been lightly sprayed with a cooking spray on a rimmed baking sheet. Roll the dough up over the rolling pin then carefully unroll it into the pie plate, easing it into the edges as you go. If the dough is getting soft, refrigerate for about 30 minutes before finishing. Trim the dough, leaving about an inch from the edge of the pie plate. Fold the dough under and finish the edges, fluting with your fingers or with a fork. Chill until you’re ready to fill the pie shell or at least 30 minutes.

To blind bake, cover the edges with a pie shield then line the shell with a sheet of parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake the shell in a 425-degrees oven on the lowest rack for 12 minutes, then remove the pie weights and parchment paper, dock the bottom and edges of the shell and bake for another 3 to 4 minutes just to slightly dry out the bottom.

For the chocolate custard:

1-½ cups sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons flour

3 extra-large eggs, whites and yolks separated

1 extra-large egg, whole

1-½ cups half and half

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, and flour, whisking to get any lumps out of the cocoa powder.

In a small bowl, beat the 3 eggs yolks and the 1 whole egg together on medium speed until thick and light in color.

Add the half and half along with the beaten eggs and vanilla extract to the sugar and cocoa mixture, whisking until well blended. Pour the custard mixture into the pie shell and bake at 425-degrees for 10 minutes on the center rack of the oven. Reduce the heat to 375-degrees and continue baking for another 30 to 40 minutes or until the center is set and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. (Bake the pie with the pie shield over the edge of the pastry.)

While the pie is baking, make the meringue.

For the meringue:

2 teaspoons cornstarch*

½ cup water*

5 egg whites, room temperature

¾ teaspoon cream of tarter

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ cup sugar

Whisk the cornstarch with the water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir frequently, and cook until the mixture thickens slightly and turns a bit translucent, about 2 minutes

In a large mixing bowl, using the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar and vanilla extract on medium speed until the eggs are frothy. Slowly add the sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time and whisk on low speed until the sugar is completely dissolved. You can rub a bit of meringue between your fingers to check.

Add the cornstarch, 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue beating on medium-high speed until the meringue is shiny, glossy, and stiff peaks have formed.

*Our original meringue recipe is made without the addition of the cornstarch and water mixture. If time is an issue you can skip this step.

To finish the pie:

When the pie filling is set, remove the pie from the oven, remove the pie shield and spread the meringue over the top of the chocolate custard, making sure you seal the meringue up against the edges. (This keeps the meringue from shrinking while baking.) Lower the temperature to 325-degrees and finish baking for about 10-12 minutes or until the meringue is light golden in color. Cool on a wire rack before slicing to let the custard set up.

Makes one 9-inch pie.