Passport & Plate - South (of the border) Chocolate Skillet Pie
USA | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 5 photos
Ingredients
Pie Crust ---
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (and some extra for rolling out the crust)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3-4 Tbsp ice water
Pie Custard ---
Dry ingredients:
1 3/4 cups sugar
8 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients:
4 eggs -- separated (use yolks for pie)
2 cups milk
4 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
9 inch prebaked pie shell
Meringue ---
4 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
4 tsp granulated sugar
OR
Cinnamon Whipped Cream --- (this variation was born on a rainy day in the jungle - AKA - terrible conditions for fluffy meringue.)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 tsp granulated sugar
How to prepare this recipePIE CRUST ---
Whenever making a pie, the colder the butter, the better! Chop butter into squares (1/4 - 1/2 inch) & place in freezer while you prep your ingredients. Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor and pulse to mix. Add butter slowly, pulsing until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Very slowly, add water until the mixture begins to stick. Remove dough & work into a ball. Wrap and chill for 2 hrs and up to 2 days.
To pre-bake: Roll dough out into a 10x10 disk, about 1/8" thick. Lay into 9x9 pie dish, pressing firmly into the shape. Poke 4-5 holes with a fork to release steam, cover with aluminum foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights to prevent rising. Place in the oven at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
PIE FILLING
*This is a traditional Southern pie, which means it must be made in a cast-iron skillet, and stirred with a wooden spoon. Grandma's rules!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir all dry ingredients until blended. Lightly beat egg yolks and combine with milk. (Set egg whites aside for meringue at room temperature). Melt butter in skillet on medium heat. Gradually add dry ingredients, stirring constantly - the mixture will still be slightly dry. Gradually add the milk and egg mixture, stirring constantly with whisk until
mixture is smooth. Continue to stir constantly until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, and pour into prebaked pie shell.
MERINGUE ---
Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy. Add 4 tablespoons of sugar, one at a time, and continue
beating until stiff peaks form (about 2 to 3 minutes).
CINNAMON CREAM VARIATION ---
Beat heavy cream on high until it thickens. Add sugar and cinnamon once mixture is thick, then chill while pie bakes.
Top the pie with meringue, sealing edges well. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool before serving
The story behind this recipeSome of my favorite culinary memories are rooted in the South, but little did I know that as I wandered further south – all the way to the tip of Chilean Patagonia – they would bring me home when I couldn't physically make the trip. Like all great food, my grandmother’s Southern Chocolate Skillet pie has been passed down and tweaked, like the cast iron skillet that its always been made in. With an evolution from melt-in-your-mouth fudge made famous by my great grandmother (Equally for the flavor as for her slow, methodical stirring and story-telling) to a dessert that replaced even the most extravagant birthday cakes, this pie is as rich in tradition as it is in flavor.
If you were in the south, you might even say “the proof is in the pudding.” It’s in simplicity and traditions like spelling great-grandchildren’s names in chocolatey cursive letters and watching them melt back into the bubbling mixture. It’s in hushed silence as everyone around the table closes their eyes in reverence of silky chocolate and light-as-air meringue. It’s in crystallized sugar on old wooden spoons, fresh farm eggs whipped to stiff peaks, and the anticipation as you slip a still-warm slice from its mold.
Although my grandmother never used cayenne in her pie, and cinnamon wasn’t her spice of choice, these additions are my contribution to the legacy; they reflect my personal journey from Kentucky to the Latin American countries that have inspired my wanderlust. The combination of warming cinnamon and the kick of cayenne is reminiscent of adobe kitchens and motherly Mexican women eager to share their culture in the form of a frothy drink. Stirred by wooden spoons and wrinkled hands the drink’s flavors fused effortlessly with the already oh-so-southern simplicity of my grandmother's original recipe. The pie, like my family, provided me the perfect foundation for exploration. The result was a pie and a passion that when combined, make for a phenomenal first bite.
