Saturday, March 22, 2008

Chocolate Raspberry Angel Pie

Meeeep it has been so long since my last post, hasn't it?  Oh well, such is the price I pay for being busy making films and preparing for the Summer.  I extend my sincere apologies for my absence to anyone I may have left in a sad, sugarless state.  I assure you, this pie is more than enough to bring anyone into a happy, happy, sugar-filled state!  

I have been on Spring Break this past week, and I spent much of it relaxing in an internet-less condo in the snowy mountains with three of my friends (one other female and two male).  Since there was no internet, and since the men spent every minute of every day practically glued to their video games, the other girl and I basically spent all of our time in the kitchen!  I made a dessert every night, she made breakfast every morning, and we rotated and collaborated on the dinners.  And when I wasn't in the kitchen, I was out taking snowy mountain pictures!  It was wonderful; it is very, very rare for me to have the leisure to spend so much time in the kitchen, so I made sure to take full advantage of it.  

And here is some of the fruit of my labors (leisures?)


The crust is meringue, the filling is chocolate raspberry, and the topping is rose flavored whipped cream.  My friends loved it, and the four of us ate almost the whole thing in just two days.  Which is saying a lot considering the enormous amount of other food the other girl and I were forcing everyone to eat daily!  

Here is the recipe, which I adapted from the amazing cookbook, Lost Desserts by Gail Monaghan.  This is the first recipe I have tried from this book, but from the looks of it I will definitely try more in the near future!  You'll find this pie in the book without the raspberry and rose, but with espresso and kahlua.  

Chocolate Raspberry Angel Pie (adapted from Lost Desserts)

For the meringue crust:

4 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 275 F.
Butter a 9-inch springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and butter the paper.
Beat the egg whites with the salt to soft peaks.  
Add the sugar gradually while continuing to beat.  Once all the sugar has been added, add the vanilla.  Beat on high speed to stiff peaks.  
Spread the meringue over the bottom and sides of the pan, building the sides about 2 inches high.
Bake for an hour and 15 minutes.  Let cool.

For the filling:

12 oz. chopped semisweet chocolate
pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup water
1 tsp raspberry extract

Gently heat the chocolate, salt, and water in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring constantly, until all the chocolate has melted.  
Remove from heat and whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time.  Add the raspberry extract.  Let cool completely.
Whip the cream until soft peaks form, and then fold into the cooled chocolate mixture.  
Spoon the mixture into the cooled meringue crust, cover and refrigerate until set (at least 4 hours).  

For the topping:

1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp rose water
Fresh raspberries

When ready to serve the pie, whip the cream with the sugar and rose water until stiff peaks form.  
Carefully remove the pie from the pan, and spread the whipped cream over the top.  Garnish with fresh raspberries and serve.  

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

OH!

That is fantastic! I am so hungry for chocolate now!

Jaime said...

rose flavored whipped cream? how cool! i LOVE raspberries :) hope you are enjoying your time off!

Astra Libris said...

Wow... You are a dessert goddess... I am in awe of your beautiful pie!

Anonymous said...

This looks so amazing! Raspberry is my favorite fruit flavor and then that sliced shot. Wow! My dessert sucks in comparison. :)

Jones said...

ok, you don't know me, but I LOVE your recipes...and this one...oh my gosh. let's just say, I'm pregnant. I saw this. and I HAD to make it!

It was one of our deserts for Easter and it was SUCH a hit. I blogged it and am begging others to try it, lol.

thank you thank you thank you, for being such a genius in the kitchen!

Suze said...

Holy cow..that looks awesome!!!

Tempered Woman said...

ok~ now that looks decadent and amazing! I think I could prob wolf down half of that pie all on my own...

Peabody said...

The meringue crust sounds like a wonderful way to go.

Shaheen said...

This looks so decadent! And with the raspberries - it couldn't get better! Yum

Nina Timm said...

Good golly, what must I say....I am at a loss of words. This looks delicious....