Chocolate Pie

So, I was a little scared to try this one out. I've actually never had much luck with pies.

But boy was this pie good.

You can use a home-made or store bought crust. I'm sure graham cracker crust would be fine, but I think that buttery pastry is the best for this pie. The bottom is made of condensed milk and chocolate. Then, a second layer of more rick chocolate filling. I finished it with a meringue topping that was absolutely airy and perfect.

First, prepare your favorite crust.

For the Filling:

• 4 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
• 1/4 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips
• 1 Cup White Sugar
• 1 Can Condensed Milk (I used unsweetened because I wanted to control the sugar content)
• 1/2 Stick of Butter (1/4 Cup)
• 3 Egg Yolks
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 Tablespoon Instant Coffee Grounds (optional, but it brings out the taste of the chocolate-you won't be able to taste the coffee) 

1. In a saucepan, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and sugar. 
2. Add the condensed milk and begin heating the mixture on low heat. 
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Add the butter to the heating mixture, wait a few minutes until almost all the way melted, and whisk the egg yolks (RESERVE THE WHITES FOR THE MERINGUES LATER!) into the saucepan. MAKE SURE your saucepan is on VERY low heat or your eggs will scramble. Cut off the heat, take the saucepan off the stove, and add the chocolate chips, whisking until they're all melted and well incorporated (you can add the coffee with the chocolate chips if desired). 
4. Pour the mixture into the pie crust

For the Second Layer:

• 1/2 Cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 Tablespoons Milk or Cream (heavy cream is the tastiest)

1. The easiest way to do this is placing both ingredients into a bowl and heating it in ten second intervals in the microwave. Stirring each time, you can stop as soon as the chocolate chips melt. Pour this mixture evenly over the bottom mixture into the pie crust. 

For the Meringue:

• 3 Reserved Egg Whites from Yolks used above
• 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar (whoops, I didn't have this...It worked out fine for me but it stabilizes the meringue!)

1. Beat the egg whites until they start to stiffen, then slowly add the sugar and cream of tartar. 
2. After a few minutes, the egg whites will be shiny and stiff. Beat until it forms stiff peaks, but don't overbeat or you'll lose the smoothness!
3. Place in a piping bag with desired tip, or if you prefer you can just spoon it onto the pie after it's baked and create a more "homey" look. 

How to bake:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 Degrees.
2. Place the prepared pie into the oven and bake until almost set. It's hard to tell when this is sometimes, but I waited about 30 minutes and when I shook it it didn't "wobble." 
3. Remove the Pie from the oven and get ready to pipe! Using your piping bag or a spoon, apply meringue topping as you desire. 
4. Place the pie back into the oven, and up the temperature to 400 Degrees. It should only take five or six minutes at the most to finish off the meringue. Remove the pie as soon as the tops of the meringue begin to turn golden brown.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in refrigerator for at least four hours. 
6. Enjoy!