Jeni recently bought me the "Lion House Pies" recipe book, filled with great recipes served at the Lion House in Salt Lake City, Utah. This was my first attempt at a recipe from the book and it has now become our favorite chocolate dessert. It is almost like a chocolate cream pie but it is thicker and more dense. I also loved the meringue nut crust which gave the entire pie a wonderful textural contrast. This one is a keeper for sure. The recipe below yields one 9 inch pie, serving 6-8.
HELPFUL HINTS
1. If you find that the pie was not dark enough, add a mixture of additional melted chocolate and / or Hershey's syrup to give it a richer look.
2. Be very careful not to burn the meringue. I found that I needed to cut off 5-10 minutes of the cooking time, possibly due to the Utah high altitude?
INGREDIENTS
Meringue Shell
2 egg whites, room temperature
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
1/2 tsp vanilla
Filling
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
8 oz milk chocolate bar with almonds
DIRECTIONS
Meringue Shell
1. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar until frothy.
2. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.
3. Fold in nuts and vanilla.
4. Spread into a greased 9-inch pie pan, building up on sides of pan.
5. Bake at 300 degrees F. for 50 minutes then cool completely.
Filling
1. Whip cream with vanilla, then set aside.
2. Break up three-fourths of the chocolate bar into pieces and met in top of a double broiler or microwave in a glass bowl.
3. When chocolate is just lukewarm, fold into whipped cream and vanilla.
4. Pile chocolate filling into cooled meringue shell.
5. Grate remaining chocolate to garnish pie.
6. Chill in refrigerator for two hours before serving.
