Margaret's Southern Chocolate Pie Recipe

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Sift together the cocoa powder and the flour and pour them into a saucepan. Whisk the egg yolks and 1 1/3 cups sugar. Gradually add the evaporated milk, whisking constantly; slowly pour the milk mixture into the saucepan, whisking until combined.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a flat-bottomed wooden spoon or spatula, until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of the spoon, about 15 minutes. Remove the custard from the heat and stir in the butter until melted. Pour the filling into the baked pie crust.
To make the meringue topping: Combine the egg whites and cream of tartar in a clean glass or metal bowl; beat with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Lift your beater or whisk straight up: the egg whites will form sharp peaks. Spread the meringue over the chocolate filling.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until the tips of the meringue peaks are golden brown.

Reviews (89)

TALLGAL21

Dec. 25, 2005

"I actually made a double recipe of this pie using Splenda instead of sugar and even the meringue turned out great. I think my Dad ate the pie in less than one day and then wanted the recipe. One thi..." See moreng I learned (and maybe it's just the case with Splenda substituted) is that using a nonstick skillet is much better than a saucepan. Even with me constantly stirring, it scorched on two different pans and then did great when I finally moved to the nonstick pan. One note: If you are subbing Splenda for sugar, you may wish to reduce the Splenda amount slightly from what is called for in sugar quantity - Splenda tends to turn out a little sweeter than sugar. Great recipe - Thanks!"

YELLOBUTTERFLY

Nov. 3, 2005

"This recipe is perfect the way it is! First attempt, I followed other's advice and used 1/3 cup cocoa and omitted the extra 1/3 cup sugar. The pie tasted allright, but had lots of cocoa lumps and wa..." See moresn't really presentable. Second time around I made it according to original recipe and also sifted all dry ingredients - not only was it beautiful, it was delicious (and we didn't think it was overly sweet like others did)! SO, my advice is to stick with the recipe as is!! (only thing different I did use Emeril's recipe for meringue)."

Scottley

Jul. 10, 2003

"Bullseye! This is a fantastic recipe. The chocolate and sweetness are perfectly balanced. Lumps have always been a major problem with my chocolate pies. Some tips I used to avoid unsightly lumpine..." See moress (which is inevitable with recipes like this) was to sift the dry ingredients together, stir the liquid mixture constantly and then strain out smaller lumps as it begins to thicken on the stove. The egg proteins will cause some lumps as they cook -- and espcially as you scrape the bottom of the sauce pan with the flat bottom spoon. Fortunately, they smooth right out after adding the butter with a little help from the handheld mixer. My end result was a perfectly firm, but creamy smooth texture and a delicious flavor. Thanks for submitting this recipe. Reminds me of Mom's chocolate pie."

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