CHOCOLATE ANGEL STRATA PIE

i grew up in a dessert house, thanks to my mom we had it after almost every dinner. which i think actually worked in my favor because as an adult, i love dessert but i don’t have the urge to overeat it because there was an abundance of it. it didn’t feel like a scarce treat that we had to load up on while we had the chance. i think that idea is interesting, treating dessert as something that we had access to almost took the energy out of it, not making it a source of obsession. anyway, this was one of my favorite desserts while growing up. i asked for it to be my birthday cake several years in a row (including one year that i had a gymnastics party and ate two pieces before jumping for an hour on a trampoline which left me feeling very ill). it’s decadent without being too rich. it’s layers of chocolate and meringue with hints of cinnamon and you’re going to want to make this asap. i served it this weekend at a dinner party we hosted and it was a hit! – joanie

chocolate angel strata pie
serves 10

what you’ll need//

for the crust:
• 1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (cinnamon or regular!)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 stick of butter, melted

for the meringue:
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar

chocolate filling:
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 egg yolks

cinnamon filling:
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup sugar

• preheat the oven to 325 degrees. for the crust: mix together the cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. press into a 9″ pan. next make the meringue, beat the egg whites, add the vinegar, salt and cinnamon and beat until soft mounds form. add the 1/2 cup sugar 2 tablespoons at a time and beat until stiff and glossy. pour into the crust and bake 15-18 minutes until lightly brown. Remove and cool.

• make the chocolate filling, melt chocolate and water in a double boiler. once smooth, add the egg yolks. spread 3 tablespoons of this chocolate mixture over the meringue and cool. chill remaining chocolate mixture.

• cinnamon filling: combine sugar, cinnamon and whipping cream into a small bowl, beat until thick. spread 1/2 over the chocolate in the pie shell. mix the remaining 1/2 with the cooled chocolate mixture and spread over the pie.

• chill for 4 hours, cut and serve!