Chocolate Chiffon Pie
Light in texture but rich and chocolaty. Make early in the day or the day before, if serving in the evening.Based on a recipe from Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts, Maida Heatter, Alfred A. Knopf, 1984, p 273.
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
PIE CRUST
- 9" pie shell, baked and cooled to room temperature use standard pie crust recipe for single crust
CHOCOLATE FILLING
- 7 ounces semisweet chocolate
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin usually 1 envelope
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs separated and at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon dry instant coffee
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 large egg whites at room temperature
- pinch salt
GARNISH OPTIONS
- Grated semisweet chocolate
- Whipped cream
Instructions
- Place bowl and beater of stand mixer in refrigerator to chill. Gather a double boiler, add water to bottom and place on stove. Fill a bowl large enough to fit top pot of double boiler with ice and water.
- Roughly chop chocolate. Place in food processor, blender, or grater and grind until fine.
- Begin heating water in bottom of double boiler over moderate heat; do not allow to boil. To top of double boiler, off heat, add milk to top of double boiler, sprinkle gelatin on top and let stand 2 minutes. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar, egg yolks, and ground chocolate. Use whisk to thoroughly combine. Place over hot water (not boiling) of double boiler, stir until chocolate, sugar, and gelatin are dissolved. Add instant coffee and stir to dissolve. Remove top pot from double boiler as soon as coffee is dissolved and place in bath of ice water. Stir until mixture cools to room temperature. Remove from ice water and set aside.
- Take chilled bowl and beater, add heavy cream and whip until it holds a shape. Set aside.
- Add four egg whites and salt to clean bowl of stand mixer. Using clean beaters beat at high speed until they barely begin to hold a shape. Reduce to moderate speed, gradually add sugar. Increase speed and beat until sugar is dissolved (when tested by rubbing between two fingers). Egg whites should hold shape but shouldn't be beaten to point where they become stiff and dry.
- Ideally, to combine chocolate mixture, whipped cream, and beaten egg whites, they should all have a similar consistency. Using a whisk, fold one-third of chocolate mixture into beaten egg whites. Then fold the second third of chocolate mixture into whipped cream. Then combine them all together in one large bowl, handling only minimum amount until mixture is uniformly mixed.
- Pour mixture into pie shell, filling just to rim. Place in freezer for 5 minutes. Remove from freezer and mound remaining filling on top, use spatula to even out. Refrigerate until completely set. This will take several hours to overnight.
- Prior to serving pie may be decorated with some small dollops of whipped cream or grated chocolate.
