I am so not kidding. This was awesome.  Except for the messed up meringue which I will explain in due time….
I love chocolate …and I love chocolate pie but I wanted something a bit different.  You know how you stand at the closet door and stare at your clothes on Sunday morning waiting for either your body to suddenly drop 20 lbs OR an angel to appear and pull something out and hand it to you, saying “Thus sayeth the Lord..wear this and thy thighs will be as tiny reeds“???

Yeah…me too.

Well I stood at the door of the pantry like that waiting for some amazing ingredient jumped out at me.  I looked on the tea shelf and amongst the various teas was a nice darjeeling.

I am not a huge fan of darjeeling.  It is good, but my tastes run more toward the blended, flavored and pimped up teas of modern times.   But I thought that that delicate floral-fruit taste would go well with chocolate…and I was not disappointed.

By the way, I can make incredible, awesome, TOWERING meringues..however, apparently some days….are…just…not the day for it.  The meringue would not whip up…I think the humidity was about 140 so that may have something to do with it.

You can get a great tutorial on how to make perfect pie crust at Baking Delights..I did a step by step with images.

We raise dairy goats and use raw milk.  This milk is much richer than  the pasteurized homogenized,sanitized stuff you get at the store.  If you do not have access to this then use half & half for the best texture and flavor. Just tell yourself you will only have a thin slice.

1 baked pie crust

3 cups half and half

2 bags of darjeeling or 2 tablespoons of the loose leaf

pinch of salt

3 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup organic cornstarch (no GMOs)

1/3 cup dark cocoa

3/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter

 For the Meringue

3 egg whites

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Beat whites an cream of tartar until peaks start to form.  Slowly beat in sugar until  stiff peaks are glossy and hold their shape.

Whisk the cornstarch, salt, sugar, and cocoa together and set aside.  Heat the half and half cream in a microwave safe bowl until it is very hot and bubbles form on the edge.

Place the tea in the hot milk and allow to steep for 5 minutes or so.  Longer will give a stronger flavor but the bitterness from over steeping is covered by the chocolate…strain the tea or discard the tea bags.

Whisking constantly add the hot cream to the dry mixture.  Whisk it until completely smooth.

Beat the egg yolks and add,  whisking the whole time. Microwave on high for about 6 to 9 minutes, whisking smooth every minute.  You can do this on top of the stove too but I like the microwave.

When pudding is thick add the vanilla and butter.  stir until the butter melts.  Pour in the baked pie shell and top with meringue while still hot.  Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until golden.  Chill until ready  to serve.

Post from: Kettle and Cup