Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (44 page)

Chocolate Fudge Pie

10
P
ORTIONS

This is dense, dark, moist, chewy, and rich, rich, rich! It is best to make the pie early in the day for serving that night; it should be cooled and refrigerated before serving.

PIE CRUST

Prepare a 10-inch baked pie shell (see page 176). Note that for this pie it is important to form a high rim with no low spots to hold all the filling. And make a change in timing since this will have additional baking when the filling is poured in. After you remove the aluminum foil and the dried beans and reduce the temperature to 400 degrees, bake for only 3 or 4 minutes (instead of 7 or 8) until the bottom of the crust is dry but not brown.

Let the partially baked crust cool slightly (or completely, if you wish) while you prepare the filling.

FUDGE FILLING

¼ pound (1 stick) sweet butter

3 ounces (3 squares) unsweetened chocolate

4 eggs (graded large or extra-large)

Scant ¼ teaspoon salt

1½ cups granulated sugar

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

¼ cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional: 1 tablespoon Cognac or rum

Adjust rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the butter and the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over warm water on low heat. Cover until partially melted, then uncover and stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove the top of the double boiler and set it aside, uncovered, to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs well. Except for the chocolate and butter mixture add all the remaining ingredients and beat well. Then beat in the chocolate and butter mixture.

Turn into the prepared, partially baked pie crust; the filling will come almost to the top of the crust. Handle very carefully and place in the preheated oven.

Bake for 50 minutes. Do not bake any longer even if the filling appears soft. Turn the oven heat off, prop the oven door partially open, and let the pie stand in the oven until it is completely cool. (The filling will puff up during baking and then will settle down to a thin layer that will crack while cooling. O.K.)

Refrigerate for several hours.

WHIPPED CREAM

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional: 1 tablespoon Cognac or rum

¼ cup confectioners sugar

In a chilled bowl with chilled beaters, whip the cream with the remaining ingredients until it will just hold a shape.

Shortly before serving spread the cream in a thick layer over the top of the pie.

Chocolate Angel Pie

12 TO 14
P
ORTIONS

This is from my good friend Janet Chusmir, who is a wonderful cook and Editor of
The Miami Herald.

An Angel Pie has a meringue crust and a rich and creamy mousse-like filling. This filling is the best I’ve ever had for this type dessert. You will love it.

This is a large, dramatic dessert, made in a 10-inch ovenproof glass pie plate, with a filling more than 3 inches deep. The meringue shell and the filling must be made the day before serving, or the meringue will be sticky and difficult to cut. And the filling will be firmer and more delicious after standing. The whipped cream topping should be put on shortly before serving (“shortly before” may be anywhere from about 1 or 2 hours up to immediately before).

MERINGUE SHELL

(You can use leftover egg whites that have been frozen and thawed)

½ cup egg whites (from 3 to 4 eggs, depending on their size), at room temperature

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Adjust rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 275 degrees. Lightly butter a 10-inch ovenproof glass pie plate and set it aside.

In the small bowl of an electric mixer at moderate speed beat the egg whites for a few seconds or just until they are foamy. Add the salt and cream of tartar. Beat at moderate speed for a minute or so until the whites hold a soft shape. Continue to beat at moderate speed and start adding the sugar, 1 rounded tablespoonful at a time. Beat for half a minute or so between additions. When about half of the sugar has been added, add the vanilla and then continue adding the sugar as before. When all of the sugar has been added, increase the speed to high and beat for 7 or 8 minutes more until the sugar is dissolved—test it by rubbing a bit between your fingers. If it feels grainy, beat some more. The meringue will be very stiff. (Total beating time from start to finish is 15 to 18 minutes.)

The meringue will be a little sticky and hard to handle. Use a spoon to pick it up and a rubber spatula to push it off the spoon. Place well-rounded tablespoonfuls of the meringue touching one another around the sides of the plate and then place the remainder on the bottom of the plate and spread it to make a shell almost 1 inch thick and extending about ¾ of an inch above the rim of the plate. The meringue should be fairly smooth on the bottom and sides, but the top of the rim should be shaped into irregular peaks. Try not to spread the meringue over the edge of the plate—it rises and spreads during baking and if it has been spread over the edge too much it might run over the sides and be difficult to serve. I use a teaspoon on the inside of the plate to bring the meringue up into peaks, forming a high shell without letting it spread over the rim.

Bake for 1¼ to 1½ hours until the meringue is a pale, sandy color. The meringue should dry out in the oven as much as possible, but the color should not become any darker than a pale gold. Then turn off the heat, open the oven door slightly, and let the meringue cool in the oven. It will probably crack during cooling—don’t worry, that’s O.K.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE FILLING

12 OUNCES SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE (SEE NOTE)

6 eggs (graded large or extra-large), 4 of the eggs should be separated and 2 should be left whole

2 cups heavy cream

Pinch of salt

Place the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover until the chocolate is partially melted. Then uncover and stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove from the hot water and set aside, uncovered, briefly.

Place the 4 egg yolks and 2 whole eggs in a large mixing bowl. Stir with a wire whisk to mix well (they should be thoroughly mixed but not beaten until airy). Then gradually add the warm chocolate, stirring constantly with the whisk, until smooth. Set aside.

In a chilled bowl with chilled beaters whip the cream only until it holds a definite shape but not until it is stiff (stiff cream will make the filling heavy and buttery instead of light and creamy). Set aside.

In the small bowl of an electric mixer add the salt to the 4 remaining egg whites and beat until the whites hold a shape or are stiff but not dry. In 2 or 3 additions add the whites to the chocolate/egg mixture and fold them in using a rubber spatula. Then in 2 or 3 additions, add the whipped cream and fold that in. Do not handle any more than necessary to blend the ingredients.

Turn the filling into the cooled meringue shell. Smooth the top. Refrigerate overnight.

The next day prepare the whipped cream topping.

WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING

2 cups heavy cream

⅓ cup strained confectioners sugar

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

In a chilled bowl with chilled beaters whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla only until the cream holds a shape. (It should hold a shape but it is nicer if it is not too stiff.) Place the cream by large spoonfuls over the filling. Then spread it to cover the filling; it may be spread smoothly or swirled into peaks. Or, if the mousse filling is too deep (that will depend on how you shaped the shell) serve the cream separately. Refrigerate.

OPTIONAL
:
Cover the top of the pie generously with Chocolate Shavings (see page 263). You can work either directly over the pie, letting the curls fall on the cream, or work over wax paper and then transfer the curls with a spoon; or, holding the two narrow sides of the paper, lift it and funnel the curls over the top.

TO SERVE THE PIE
:
Place the pie plate on a folded napkin on a large platter. When you cut the meringue it might crumble and the platter will catch any overflow. And the folded napkin will keep the pie plate from slipping. Use a large, sharp knife.

NOTE
:
Janet uses semisweet chocolate morsels for the filling and her word to describe this pie is “exceptional.” I have used the morsels and have also made it with Tobler Tradition and with Lindt Excellence. There is a difference in flavor, but no matter what the chocolate, the word is “exceptional.” (If you use bar chocolate, break or cut it into pieces before using.)

Chocolate Pecan Angel Pie

10
P
ORTIONS

This is somewhat similar to the previous Chocolate Angel Pie with these differences: this crust has nuts in it, this filling has no eggs and is easier to make, and this one has a coffee flavor.

MERINGUE SHELL

Prepare the meringue shell as in the Chocolate Angel Pie (above), but just before placing the mixture in the pie plate gently fold in ¾ cup pecans cut into medium-small pieces. Then continue with the directions for shaping and baking the meringue shell.

FILLING

8 ounces semisweet chocolate

2 tablespoons dry instant coffee

6 tablespoons boiling water

2 scant teaspoons vanilla extract

1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream

Optional: 2 tablespoons whiskey, rum, or Cognac

Break up or coarsely chop the chocolate and place it in a medium-size saucepan. Dissolve the coffee in the boiling water and pour it over the chocolate. Stir over low heat until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside until completely cooled. (This may be stirred briefly over ice and water to save time.) Test the temperature by dropping a bit of the mixture on the inside of your wrist. When it is cool, stir in the vanilla.

In a chilled bowl with chilled beaters whip the cream with the optional liquor until the cream just holds a shape—do not beat until it is really stiff.

Fold half of the whipped cream into the chocolate and then fold the chocolate into the remaining cream.

Turn the filling into the cooled meringue shell and smooth the top. After a few hours the top may be loosely covered with plastic wrap.

Although the optional toppings may be put on shortly before serving, the meringue shell and the filling must be refrigerated overnight.