Chocolate Pie with Meringue and Buttermilk Pie

Chocolate Pie with Meringue.

Today I rolled out a couple of single pie crusts and baked an old standby Buttermilk pie and a Chocolate pie topped with a baked meringue topping.  The recipe for the Buttermilk Pie has been given twice before as has been pastry so here are the links should you want to give them a try.

Buttermilk Pie

thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2012/05/fresh-cherry-pie.html    for the pastry and  
thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2010/11/buttermilk-pie-my-oh-my.html   for my grandmother's buttermilk pie recipe.

When I make a chocolate pie I dock and bake the pie shell then as it cools from the oven I make a quick and very easy chocolate filling.  I let the filling sit and cool about 5 minutes while I beat the meringue.  Then I spoon in the filling, spread the meringue atop, then bake the pie until beautifully browned.  Lastly I choll it about 3 hours before serving.

Ingredients for Chocolate Pie with Meringue:

The filling:
1,  6 ounce box cook and serve chocolate pudding mix
3  C. whole milk
3 egg yolks
1 8-9" baked pie shell

The meringue:
3 egg whites
4 T. sugar
1/4 t. cream of tarter
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Beat together the egg yolks and cold milk in a heavy bottomed medium sized sauce pan until well incorporated.  Whisk in the pudding mix and cook over medium high heat until it reaches a rolling boil you cannot stir down.
Set aside.

Place the egg whites in a flat bottomed glass or metal bowl and add the cream of tarter and salt. Using an electric mixer beat until frothy.  Add the sugar, sprinkling it in gently as you continue beating until soft but stiff peaks form.

Spread the chocolate filling into the baked shell, spread the meringue atop the filling making swirls. Bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown.  Cool on the counter about an hour then refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.