Chocolate Meringue Pie

A month or two ago I was given a large bag of home grown lemons. My husband immediately requested a home made lemon meringue tart, and as it is also one of my favourites I happily obliged. While I was whisking up the meringue and lost in my own thoughts a wave of inspiration hit me - if I could make a lemon meringue pie, why not make a chocolate meringue pie? (I often have chocolate on the brain, so this sudden idea should not be too surprising.)

I basically followed the same method that I use for making my favourite lemon meringue pie, but "chocolified" it, (definitely a word, you can google it). I swopped out the regular biscuits for chocolate digestives, made a chocolate filling and stirred cocoa powder through the meringue before baking to finish it all off. Goodness gracious, it was delicious!

The important thing to note here is that the tart should be left to cool completely before you slice it. This allows the chocolate filling to set completely, otherwise you could have a messy time trying to lift out the slices. I do hope you love this recipe as much as we do!

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CHOCOLATE MERINGUE PIE

Makes 1 large pie

For the base:

200g chocolate digestive biscuits
75g butter, melted 

For the chocolate filling: 

150g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
50g butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
200g castor sugar

For the meringue topping: 

4 egg whites
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
150g castor sugar 
1 tbsp cocoa

Step 1.) Grease a 20cm pie dish. Place the chocolate digestives in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush them. Tip the crumbs into a small bowl, add the melted butter and stir well. Press the biscuit mixture into the base of the dish in an even layer, then pop the dish in the fridge.

Step 2.) Preheat your oven to 180°C. Place the dark chocolate and butter in a saucepan. Stir over a low heat until the chocolate and butter have melted. Stir in the vanilla extract, then set the pot aside.

Step 3.) Whisk the eggs and the castor sugar together until pale and combined, about 2 minutes. Slowly fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and stir until combined. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pie dish and bake for 20 minutes.

Step 4.) While the chocolate is baking prepare the meringue topping. Whisk the egg whites until foamy. Add the salt and cream of tartar and whisk until soft peak stage. Add the castor sugar one tablespoon at a time while whisking, until it is fully incorporated and the meringue has stiff peaks. Sift the cocoa over the meringue and stir a few times (don't overdo it!) to give a streaky effect. 

Step 5.) Pile the meringue onto the hot chocolate filling. I like to leave a bit of space around the edge to allow the meringue to spread a little. Bake for 25 minutes, the centre will be wobbly. Set aside until completely cold and the filling has set.