An Old-Fashioned Chocolate Meringue Pie with a rich custard filling, a light and airy meringue and a tender pie crust always brings back memories of childhood. Nothing beats homemade pie just like grandma’s pie.
One of my great grandmother’s specialties was chocolate meringue pie. She would tirelessly whip those egg whites by hand. Thank goodness, I can let my Electric Mixer do the work! That takes some serious forearm strength.
Unfortunately I don’t have my great-grandmother’s recipe, but this one is very similar. It’s a recipe from Charlotte’s Eats & Sweets in Keo, Arkansas that was published in Southern Living Off the Eaten Path: Favorite Southern Dives and 150 Recipes that Made Them Famous
. I’ve altered the recipe just a little, reducing the vanilla extract and adding an extra egg white to the meringue.
This is a really solid recipe that produces a super-sweet chocolate filling that is balanced out by a meringue with just a touch of sweetness.
The cornstarch really helps the chocolate filing set up so that it holds its form when sliced and doesn’t make a soupy mess all over the plate. Don’t be intimidated by the meringue. It’s super easy. Just remember that eggs are easier to separate when they are cold but egg whites should be at room temperature when you make a meringue. And make sure to use a very clean and dry bowl. Just a tad of oil or grease will prevent the egg whites from whipping up nicely.
Once baked, cool the pie at room temperature for 1 hour and then refrigerate uncovered for 3 to 6 hours. To slice the pie, dip a knife in water before cutting each slice and don’t wipe the knife dry. The water will help prevent the pie from clinging to the knife.
To store leftovers, gently place a few toothpicks in the meringue and cover with plastic wrap. The toothpicks will prevent the plastic wrap from clinging to the meringue and messing it up.
Below are a few pictures from my weekend getaway in Beaufort, SC. Beaufort is the second oldest city in South Carolina and has a very rich and interesting history. And I feel quite sure there have been more than a few Chocolate Meringue Pies made in Beaufort through the years.
Historic home on Bay St.
Unlike many southern cities, Beaufort was not burned during the Civil War and there are still block after block of beautiful antebellum homes. Beaufort was one of the first southern towns to be captured by Union forces and many of the homes were used as hospitals during the war.
The stone home pictures above is next to the white one in the first picture and it is for sale for just under $1.2 million. All that stone looks rather foreboding doesn’t it?
If you sit on the front porch of either house you have this beautiful view of the Beaufort River.
Just a few blocks away on Craven St is the house pictured below which is one of my favorite in Beaufort. The house is so big, only part of it can be seen in the picture.
Known as “The Castle”, this home was used as a hospital during the war and an outbuilding out back was used as a morgue. The home is now said to be haunted. Like almost all of the historic homes in Beaufort, it is still a private residence. The wedding scene from the movie Forces of Nature was filmed in the front yard.
Walking the historic streets of Beaufort, lined with live oaks draped in Spanish moss, is one of my favorite things to do to unwind. With the breezes of the water and the sound of the seagulls, it’s hard not to relax. I’m hoping it won’t be long before I get to go back.
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Old-Fashioned Chocolate Meringue Pie
Ingredients
Pastry
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup shortening
- 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
Chocolate Filling
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- 4 extra-large egg yolks, beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Meringue
- 5 extra-large egg whites, room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 cup sugar
Instructions
- Prepare Pastry. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut shortening into flour with a pastry blender until mixture resembles small peas. Push mixture to one side of bowl.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon water along edge of flour mixture. Use a fork to toss some of the flour mixture into water. Move mixture to opposite side of bowl and repeat with 2 more tablespoons of water.
- Gather the dough together with your hands. You can add a little more water if the mixture is too dry, but it is best to add as little water as possible. Shape dough into a disk and place on a lightly floured work surface.
- Roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness and place in a 9-inch pie plate. Trim excess pastry and fold edges under and crimp. Prick bottom and sides with a fork and bake for 9 minutes, until golden brown. Set pie crust aside to cool and reduce oven to 325 degrees.
- Prepare Chocolate Filling. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, unsweetened cocoa, and salt. Gradually whisk in both milks.
- Cook, whisking constantly, over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute whisking continuously.
- Remove from heat and gradually whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks. Continue to add hot mixture to egg yolks while whisking constantly until approximately 1/4 of the mixture has been added to the egg yolks.
- Pour egg yolk mixture into the saucepan and whisk well.
- Cook mixture, stirring constantly, over medium heat for 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla extract. Cover with plastic wrap and keep warm.
- Prepare meringue. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves.
- Pour chocolate filling into pie crust. Spread meringue over filling, sealing the edges. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes, or until meringue is golden. Cool completely before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
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Linking up with the Weekend Potluck at The Country Cook.
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My filling set up nice after i cooked it, but when i took it out if the oven, let it cool and then refrigerated it the consistency stayed like pudding. Any suggestions of where i wrong?
My pie did that as well and I followed the directions to the letter! So disappointed.
Use to live in Beaufort back in 1953-54. My husband was in the Marines. I worked for a gentleman by the name of “Doc” Trammel. He owned a collection business!! We loved Beaufort.
I have visited there a couple of times since. Of course, nothing is the same there!! It is a beautiful place.
It really is a beautiful place and I’m so glad it hasn’t become over-developed like nearby Hilton Head. Beaufort is so quiet and relaxing. 🙂
Will using 2% milk instead of whole milk make a difference in the recipe? I never buy whole milk and always have 2% on hand.
I’ve never tried it with 2% milk, but I think it would be fine. Wouldn’t go any lower fat than 2% though.
Have made this pie for years with 2% milk, and it always turns out great! If you wanted to you could always add an extra egg yolk for richness.
That is good to know. Thanks for the tip Tammy!
Hope I not too late. DO NOT USE 2% MILK. The chocolate will not set right. It will be too runny. Need to use whole milk only. I have been making this pie for 40+ years at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Definitely didn’t need the pie in the oven for even 13 minutes. For the meringue color as shown in your pics, 7 minutes at 325 degrees would have been sufficient. Will do that next time 🙂
The pie recipe was a winner though 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing!
Good to know Cara. Thanks for your feedback and glad you enjoyed the pie!
When do I put in the milks??
In Step #5 🙂
When it says unsweetened cocoa does that mean cocoa powder or baking chocolate bars? Or does it matter?
Unsweetened cocoa powder. Sorry about that.
I made this pie today ! Wow
Question I’m in cooling stage … Is pie part supposed to be jiggly while hot ?
Yes, it will most likely be a little jiggly when first out of the oven. Hope it was delicious!
Got your pie cooling on the counter and wow…the pudding part was fabulous. The meringue is high and gorgeous. This will be my future go-to chocolate pie.
Wonderful Faye! Hope you enjoy every last bite of it. What a great way to start the weekend. Have a good one! 🙂
I stopped by from Weekend Potluck to check out your post because this pie looked so yummy. I’m totally not disappointed that I did! I would like to invite you to share your talents on my new link party The Yuck Stops Here on Hot Momma’s Kitchen Chaos at http://mommasangelbaby.com. I hope to see you there! HUGS
Thanks for stopping by Cheryl and thanks for the invitation!
This cake is everything I want in life right now oh wo w 😉
It looks way too amazing!!
I love your photos of Beaufort, and had fun viewing them on Instagram…so pretty! This pie looks so delicious — I’ve never had chocolate meringue. That meringue is a beauty to behold — so perfect! Your grandmother would be proud. 🙂
Thanks Marcie! I must admit that I prefer the taste of a whipped cream topping, but a meringue is just so much fun and I love how it turns golden brown in spots 🙂
Sooo I’ve never had chocolate meringue pie before … crazy right? I need to change that – this looks so so good! We never had a lot of pie growing up and for some reason I rarely make them either! Bad food blogger! : )
You have to try Chocolate Meringue Pie Ashley! It is so good 🙂
Looks wonderful, I love meringue pie! 🙂 My grandmother also made meringue pies all the time. Love your post!
Beaufort is a beautiful place, we visit there a lot too and Hilton head is not far from there which is where we love to go.
Michael
Check out my hike!
http://michaelswoodcraft.wordpress.com/2014/03/26/hike-along/
Yummy! I wish I knew how to make such meringue pie.. or lived closer to you 😉
That’s wonderful that you found a recipe that comes close to what your great grandmother made – this pie looks incredible Christin. Thanks for sharing these awesome pics of Beaufort with us too – I’m so glad it was a nice and relaxing trip 🙂
I love meringue pie! This looks so beautiful and delicious!
Mmm…
Those antebellum homes sure are gorgeous, but less mouthwatering than this pie! Meringue has always intimidated me, but I am cool with eating meringue made my others…hope you saved me a slice 🙂
Yum, this sounds and looks divine!
I wish chocolate meringue pie was part of my childhood eats! Just the name makes me smile…and it looks so good! I made chocolate pudding pie recently and it appears to be one of my fellas’ favorites. I’m thinking this pie (if I could make it as nicely) sure would impress them! And thanks for sharing the pics of Beaufort, too!