Decadent Chocolate Pie is a rich chocolate pie with a marshmallow type frosting. Much better than a meringue with just one additional step. Don’t forget to add some cayenne to the crust for a bit of spice.
This chocolate pie comes from a cookbook that I have really enjoyed, Sweet and Vicious. She has a great sense of humor and her recipes are a little quirky but delicious. In this recipe, she adds a dash of cayenne pepper to her pie crust so you get just a hint of spice with the rich chocolate. I would splurge and use good quality dark chocolate, there is only 2 ounces and it adds to the decadence of this dessert. This is really more like a tart than a pie. It’s not that big, but a small slice is all you need to get your chocolate fix.
The fun part of this dessert is the frosting. She calls it a marshmallow frosting, but my mother-in-law has always called this “seven minute frosting”. Cooking the egg whites and sugar slightly before whipping them gives the frosting a great texture that you can shape into cool designs on top of your pie. If you haven’t tried this type of frosting, try using it in place of a meringue frosting. The difference and what makes it more like a marshmallow than meringue is that you will heat the sugar and egg whites over some hot water until the sugar melts. Then you whip it to form this awesome big marshmallow. The second time I made this pie, I wasn’t paying attention and the frosting actually caught on fire in the oven! YIKES. Not a good idea. What was funny was that we just scraped off the burnt part and it tasted like a s’more.
To prevent this from happening, don’t put it too close to the broiler and leave the oven door slightly ajar, or don’t do what I did and forget about it. Just stand at the oven door and when it starts to brown pull it out. The third time was a charm and I finally got some decent photos.
Adapted from Sweet and Vicious
PrintDecadent Chocolate Pie
Decadent Chocolate Pie is a rich chocolate pie with a marshmallow type frosting. Much better than a meringue with just one additional step. Don’t forget to add some cayenne to the crust for a bit of spice.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: dessert
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 eggs, room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 2 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
- FROSTING
- 4 egg whites, room temp
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º.
- Prepare pie crust and add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the dough. Refrigerate. Roll out pie crust dough to a 12-13 inch round, 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Crust will sink down the sides as it bakes, so press it up the sides going past the rim. Cover with foil and top with dried beans or something to weigh it down. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and prick with a fork. Cook an additional 15 minutes until lightly brown. Remove and let cool.
- Filling:
- With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together for about 3 minutes until light in color. Add cocoa powder and beat until incorporated. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated and add vanilla. Add flour and beat just until combined. Stir in melted chocolate and spoon into the pie crust.
- Bake for 18 minutes at 375º or until the edges are firm and the center is slightly jiggly. Remove from oven and set it to Broil.
- Frosting:
- While the pie is cooking, prepare the frosting. Fill a medium saucepan with water and place over medium heat. Set the bowl of an electric mixer over the simmering water but not touching the bottom of the saucepan. Add egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar to the bowl and whisk for 4 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is warm but not hot.
- Remove from heat and with the whisk attachment of an electric mixer, beat for 5-7 minutes gradually increasing the speed until you have stiff glossy peaks Add vanilla and use right away.
- While the oven is preheating to broil, top the hot pie with dollops of frosting, making peaks. Place under the broiler for a minute, keeping the door slightly ajar as it will burn easily. You are looking for golden brown tips. Serve while warm or at room temperature.
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