Chocolate Angel Pie  

Ingredients

Crust

• 3 large egg whites
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Filling

• 5 ounces semi sweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup hot milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• chocolate curls

Method

Preheat oven to 275°F.
Shell:
Beat the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar together in the large bowl of an electric mixer until soft peaks for. Slowly beat in the sugar. Beat until meringue is very stiff. Beat in the vanilla. Grease a 9-inch glass pie pan. Spread the meringue over the bottom and sides, building up the sides as high as possible. Sprinkle the nuts over the bottom. Bake for one hour. (If after ten minutes, the sides start to sag, gently push back into place.) Turn off the oven and let the shell cool in the oven for 30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Filling
Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot water. Add the milk, vanilla and salt. Stir until smooth. Cool. Beat 1-cup cream until stiff and fold into the cooled chocolate mixture. Spread evenly in the meringue shell. Refrigerate 4 hours. Before serving, beat the remaining cream with the confectioners' sugar until stiff. Spread over top of pie. Decorate with chocolate curls.

Yield: 8 servings