Chocolate Meringue Pie

I adore pecan pie...I will always cherish sweet potato pies....but chocolate meringue pie!?!  My all time favorite forever.  This recipe is the exact chocolate pie that I grew up loving.  Thank you to Southern Pies by Nanci McDermott.  Make this one and you'll thank her, too!

Pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie (either store bought or home made)  cooked and cooled

For the filling:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1 T. cornstarch

1/4 t. salt

2 cups milk

3 egg yolks

1 t. vanilla extract

For the meringue:

3 egg whites

6 T. sugar

In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt and stir with a fork to mix well.

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and egg yolks.  Whisk to mix well.

Add the sugar-cocoa mixture to the saucepan and whisk to mix well.

Place over medium high heat.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil.  Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring and scraping the sides and bottom of the pan often until the filling becomes shiny and thickens to a silk, rich texture, 3 - 5 minutes.  Stir in the vanilla and pour the filling into the baked piecrust.  Set aside at room temperature while you prepare the meringue.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy.  Increase the speed to high, and beat until the egg whites begin to thicken to the texture of cream. 

Add the sugar 2 T. at a time, beat well each time, until the meringue is thick, shiny and able to hold curly firm peaks.  Spread the meringue evenly over the cooked pie filling, sealing the edges to the crust completely and then piling the egg whites higher in the center of the pie.  Use the back of a spoon to form curly peaks all over the meringue.

Place the pie in the oven and bake until the meringue is golden brown, 10 - 15 minutes.  Cool to room temperature and serve.