Grandma Robinson's Chocolate Meringue Pie

by

Cindy

My mom and I both love chocolate, so when she told me the other day that she wished she could have a piece of her mom's chocolate pie, I went into action.  I didn't have the chocolate pie recipe that her mom made, so I made the recipe that came from my dad's mother.  This chocolate pie is my very favorite pie, and my mom made it many times.  I compare all other chocolate pies to this one, and there are few that measure up to this recipe.  It is smooth and has a perfect chocolate richness with the light meringue on top.  I love the meringue part too.  I could go on and on about this pie.  It's sooo good.  

After having a piece with my mom last night, she told me that once when she was a young wife, she made this recipe from a cookbook that she was given, not knowing where it originated.  When my dad tasted the pie, he asked her where she got the recipe.  She told him what cookbook she had used, and it turned out to be his mom's recipe and he knew it from the first bite.  My dad's mom, Ruby, was quite the cook.  This is one of the recipes that I put in my daughter's homemade cookbooks that I made them.  I hope it lives on for many generations. I know my grandson, Carter, loves it already, because he was there when I was making it one day and enjoyed licking the bowl when I was done.  There is nothing better than licking the bowl of grandma's cooking.  

Grandma Robinson's Chocolate Meringue Pie

1 thawed pie crust

1 cup sugar 

3 T flour or cornstarch

2 T cocoa powder

2 eggs, separated

a lump of butter (about 1 tablespoon or less)

Meringue

2 egg whites or more (I used 4 for mine)

1/4 t cream of tartar

4 T sugar (2 T per egg white)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  With a fork, prick the bottom and side of the pie crust.  This keeps the crust from bubbling up while baking.  Bake the pie crust 10-15 minutes until light golden brown.  

2.  Mix together the sugar, flour or cornstarch, and cocoa in a medium sized sauce pan.  Mix together in a separate bowl the milk and egg yolks.  Add the milk mixture to the sugar mixture and blend.   (It will be lumpy at this time).  Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, on a medium to medium high setting.  I use 7 out of 10.  This process cannot be rushed so give yourself plenty of time.  It takes about 30 minutes or longer.  Cook until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens like pudding.  Remove from the heat, add the butter and mix together.  This helps remove any lumps and makes the mixture smoother.  Pour into pie shell and add meringue while it is hot.

3.  Whip the egg whites until they are firm and they hold their shape.  Add a couple of shakes of cream of tartar while they are whipping.  When they are firm, (see picture below)

gradually add the sugar.  Drop dollops of egg whites on different areas on the top of the chocolate, and then using a spatula or knife spread it out and make some swirls on top.  Make sure the meringue touches the pie crust on the edges, so that it won't shrink while cooking and cooling.  

Bake for 10-13 minutes checking to make sure it doesn't burn.  If the meringue bakes more on one side, rotate the pie in the oven.