Chocolate Mousse Pie

I've been baking all day...pies especially...and when I called my daughter in law to ask what kind of pie I could bring her and my son this Thanksgiving she said...well Jim doesn't like pecans or pumpkin. Yikes...how'd I not know that!!?
She reminded me he likes chocolatey whipped creamy kind of pies. So the first thing that came to mind was a chocolate mousse recipe I've had in my stash for...let's see..about 25 to 30 years now!!
I figured if I blind baked a crust and filled it with this amazing chocolate mousse and then topped it with fresh whipped cream...WOW that would be great!! And it is!!
The mousse is light yet so very chocolatey, using a nice helping of coffee to bring out the chocolate flavor. (It does use raw egg whites so if you're going to serve it to little people you'd better use powdered egg whites according to the package directions.)
And topping it with freshly whipped cream really makes it special. I urge you to try this. Even if you don't make it into a pie. Just spoon some into a pretty glass and top with whipped cream. Or just eat it out of the bowl!!! Kidding:) !!

The ingredients all ready to go.

Heat water and half of the sugar til dissolved.

Once it boils, remove from heat and beat in chocolate pieces til melted. Let it sit.

Separate the yolks from the whites. Put the whites in your standing mixer bowl.

Start beating the whites with the cream of tartar til firm.

Gradually beat in remaining sugar til stiff peaks form.

Beat yolks, coffee and vanilla into cooled chocolate.

Add a small portion of the stiff whites into the chocolate mixture and stir. This will lighten the chocolate mix.

Gently fold remaining whites into the mixture. Don't overmix. It's okay to see a few remaining white streaks, but just barely.

At this point, if you will be not making a pie, spoon the mix into pretty glass dessert bowls or tall glasses.

If you are going to make it into a pie, just refridgerate mix til ready to fill pie crust.

Blind bake using your favorite pie crust recipe.Prick the crust all over to prevent it from bubbling and puffing up.

Place foil on top of crust before baking and fill with dried beans ( or legumes in this case..ok, it's all I had !) and blind bake crust .

Oops..time out !! Took this shot of the newest and 4th member of my sons St. Bernard family!! This is Zeus...isn't he cute?! And he's just a puppy!! Looks like he wants a piece of that pie!! No way, mister!!

Of course we have to bake the scraps...for taste testing, you know!!

Let the crust cool completely before adding the mousse.

Chocolate Mousse Pie

Perpare your favorite pie crust recipe, blind baked and cooled.

6 oz. unsweetened chocolate-chopped into small pieces

1 cup granulated sugar-divided

1/3 cup water

6 large eggs, room temp., yolks and whites divided

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

2 tbsp. coffee (1 tsp. instant in 2 tbsp. hot water)

1 tbsp. vanilla

1. Heat water and 1/2 cup sugar in saucepan til dissolved, then bring to rolling boil.

2. Remove from heat and beat in chocolate pieces til melted. Let sit.

3. Separate eggs placing whites in standing mixer bowl.

4. Beat whites with cream of tartar til firm.

5. Gradually beat in remaining 1/2 cup sugar til stiff peaks form.

6. Beat yolks, coffee and vanilla into cooled chocolate mixture.

7. Take a little bit of the whites and stir into the chocolate mix. to lighten it up.

8. Gently fold remaining whites into chocolate mixture. Do not overmix.

9. Spoon mixture into completely cooled pie shell and top with freshly whipped cream sweetened with a little sugar. Sprinkle the whipped cream with a touch of cocoa if you'd like.

10. Refridgerate til serving time.