Lovely Chocolate Pie

This is the chocolate cream pie your great-grandmother made when she didn’t have a candy bar in the house. The filling cooks on the stovetop from cocoa powder, sugar, milk, and egg yolks, the way old-fashioned diner pies were built before instant pudding mixes took over the back of the box.

The technique is straightforward but unforgiving: cocoa, flour, and sugar mix to a paste with milk, then go on the heat to thicken into a glossy chocolate custard. Stir constantly. The egg yolks and flour both want to seize into lumps if you walk away, and once that happens, no amount of whisking saves it.

Using both regular milk and a cup of evaporated milk gives the filling its dense, velvety texture without resorting to heavy cream. The evaporated milk has less water and more milk solids, so the chocolate flavor concentrates instead of getting watered down.

A fluffy meringue topping browned in the oven is the classic finish. The contrast of cold creamy chocolate and warm sweet marshmallow-like meringue is what makes this style of pie a Sunday dinner favorite across the American South.

Pro Tips

• Sift the cocoa powder before mixing; it cakes badly in storage and lumpy cocoa makes lumpy filling.
• Temper the egg yolks by whisking in a few spoonfuls of the warm chocolate mixture before adding them to the pot; this prevents scrambled-egg pie filling.
• Cover the surface of the filling with plastic wrap pressed directly on top while it cools to prevent skin from forming.
• Bake the meringue at 350°F (175°C) for 10-12 minutes until the peaks turn golden brown, watching closely after 8 minutes.

Variations

• Reserve the egg whites for the meringue topping; whip with 2 tablespoons sugar per white until stiff peaks form.
• Add 2 ounces of melted dark chocolate to deepen the flavor, especially with cheap cocoa powder.
• Fold a half cup of sweetened whipped cream into the cooled filling for a lighter, mousse-style chocolate pie.