Chocolate Mint Pie

Another from Wartime Recipes from the Maritimes, this pie uses gelatin and whipped egg whites to create a cohesive, mousse-like texture.

The book says that the meringue is folded into the pie to reduce how much sugar was needed (since sugar was rationed). I like the lightness it adds, and I think I’d prefer this version to one with a meringue topping.

Ingredients

1 baked pie shell
2 oz unsweetened chocolate (I used 4-5 oz)
1/2 cup boiling water
1 tbsp gelatin, softened in 1/4 cup water
2 egg yolks (I used all 3)
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 drops peppermint flavouring
3 egg whites

Instructions

Melt the chocolate in the 1/2 cup boiling water (I used a double boiler). Beat until smooth. 

Remove from heat and stir in the softened gelatin until dissolved. 

Beat in to the chocolate mixture the egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Add the peppermint oil and chill until partly set. 

Whip the egg whites until stiff but not dry, then beat in the remaining 2 tbsp sugar. 

Fold egg whites into the chocolate mixture until combined. Pour into the pie shell and chill until set. 

I like my chocolate desserts to be very chocolate-y, so I often add more chocolate than requested in the recipe. I also dislike when recipes have unbalanced egg part usage – what am I going to do with one spare yolk?! So I just added it in.

I only had bittersweet chocolate, so I reduced the sugar in the recipe to 1/3 cup, to better approximate the sweetness of the original dish.

The verdict

Everyone liked it! I would make this again!

The pie was kind of mousse-like and light, while being still very chocolate-y (with my extra chocolate additions). I like the mint flavour, but I think other flavourings could be really nice too (cinnamon and chili, for example). It would also be good without flavour additions too!

I think I like the lower sugar content of most of the wartime dessert recipes – it’s nice to have something a little less. sweet sometimes. We certainly didn’t miss having more sugar in this pie.

What flavour would you add? Tell us in the comments!