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Baking a Chocolate Meringue Pie - No. 13

Demystifying one of life’s most beautifully unpretentious desserts

Anne Byrn

Jul 20

My mother had the daily pies memorized at the old Green Hills pharmacy in Nashville.

A chalkboard sign outside announced the pie of the day, but she already knew chocolate was baked on Friday. It was her favorite.

The local drugstore was where you went to get prescriptions filled or just have a quick grilled cheese sandwich and slice of pie. The cooks there knew how to satisfy lunchtime crowds with fresh meringue pies - from chocolate to banana, coconut to lemon. Heck, you could even buy freshly baked meringue pies at gas stations in the South.

But most of the pie baking took place at home, back when meringue was second nature.

The yin and the yang of an oh-so-rich filling matched with a soft and feathery meringue

To the cook who made the first meringue pie in an American kitchen, it just made good sense if you were using egg yolks in the filling to not let the egg whites go to waste. So meringue pies became a pie of economy, the pie made popular in the 1930s with home baking and increased domestic sugar production bringing down the price of sugar.

My mother made her rich, custardy fillings on the stove, and she carefully but deliberately spread the light meringue on top of the warm filling all the way to the crust to create what she called "the seal."

If the egg whites met the crust, they binded, and the meringue would not shrink back from the crust as it cooled. For pie aficionados like my mother, this was what separated great pie bakers from amateurs. It was non-negotiable.

Demystifying homemade meringue

We don’t see meringue pies on many menus these days. And yet, if you’ve got an electric mixer - even a hand-held - you can bake a meringue pie. Plus, a meringue pie likes to be made ahead of time and slices better if it is. So it’s the perfect pie for parties and gatherings.

Meringue has just two ingredients - room temperature egg whites and 2 tablespoons sugar for each egg white - and often a third ingredient - a little cream of tartar to ensure a good rise from the egg whites when you beat until stiff peaks form.

The downside of the homemade American meringue versus more complicated, sweeter European meringues that pastry chefs make is that they can weep. Moisture will seep out of them in beads or droplets after a couple days. Or the meringue itself will shrink in size and pull back from the crust. But I’ve never really seen this as a problem. At our house, the pie was devoured on day one!

When meringue gets fancy

Baked Alaska recipe from my new book, A New Take on Cake, publishing in November,

One of the most famous examples of meringues is Baked Alaska, born in 1867 at Delmonico's restaurant in New York City. French pastry chef Charles Ranhofer originally called the dessert by its classic French name - "omelette a la Norvegienne." Ranhofer created the meringue, ice cream, and cake confection as a way to commemorate the U.S. purchase of Alaska.

In truth, Ranhofer's meringue wasn’t anything like my mother’s version. His was an Italian meringue, where a sugar syrup is poured into the bowl of egg whites while they are beaten. What results is a more stable meringue that creates big peaks and a whole lot of drama once that pie is browned and brought to your table.

Making Chocolate Meringue Tarts

My cousin Rob remembers his housekeeper Annie Lou baking chocolate meringue tarts when he was a boy. There is something magical about a tart or a cupcake when you are a child. You hold it in your hand, and it is all yours.

Rob shared Annie Lou's recipe, and it took me back to the days when my mother made her chocolate meringue pie. The filling was rich and seriously chocolatey. And the meringue was so light on the palate and refreshingly easy to pull together.

I share that recipe below. And whether you bake a whole meringue pie or individual tarts, it’s all about the fabulous, lightly browned, yet utterly unpretentious meringue on top.

Do you have a favorite meringue pie story or memory?

Coming this Friday for Subscribers:

How to make a meringue-topped Baked Alaska like the one in my new book. Plus my thoughts on salt. What’s the best salt to use in cooking and baking? Find out Friday! Not a paid subscriber? Don’t miss out!

And now, the recipe….

Print the recipe

Annie Lou's Chocolate Tarts

Whether you make tarts or a whole pie, it’s up to you! One small apology: This recipe makes 10 to 12 tarts, which isn't ideal because frozen tart shells are now sold in boxes of eight. (Save those leftover shells and make quiche or little pecan pies later?) If you fill a 9-inch pre-baked pie shell and cover it with meringue, bake it 15 minutes or so to brown the meringue. Or, in a hurry, brown the meringue with a pastry-size blowtorch!

Makes 10 to 12 tarts

10 to 12 frozen 3-inch unbaked pastry tart shells or 1 one frozen 9-inch unbaked pie shell

Chocolate filling:

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole milk

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

3 large egg yolks

1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Meringue:

3 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the frozen tart shells in aluminum pans on a baking pan. Prick them with a fork a few times on the bottom and sides. When the oven is hot, place the pan in the oven. Bake until the shells are golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the shells to a wire rack to cool in the aluminum pans. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. (Follow package directions if you are pre-baking a 9-inch pie shell.)

2. For the filling, place the sugar, flour, and salt in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. Pour the milk into a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Stir and heat until the milk scalds, about 2 minutes. Pull the pan off the heat, and stir in the chocolate and stir until it melts. Pour the sugar mixture gradually into the pan with the milk and chocolate. Whisk to combine. Place the pan back over the heat, and whisk and cook until the mixture has thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

3. Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl, whisk to break up the yolks. Drop a generous tablespoon of the chocolate mixture into the yolks, and whisk constantly to combine. Turn the egg yolk mixture into the remaining hot chocolate mixture, and whisk constantly until smooth. Place over low heat, and whisk and cook until thick and smooth, about 2 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the butter and vanilla.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the meringue. Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in a large mixing bowl, and beat on high power with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. While the machine is running, pour in the sugar, and continue beating on high until stiff peaks form, about 1 to 2 minutes more.

5. Ladle the chocolate filling into the pre-baked tart shells - or a 9-inch pie shell - and cover with meringue. Make sure the meringue meets the pie crust to completely cover the filling. Place the baking pan in the 350-degree oven and bake until the meringue is golden brown, about 10 to 12 minutes.

6. Remove the pan from the oven. When cool enough to handle, lift the tarts out of their aluminum pans, and place on a rack to cool completely. Serve at once.

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