We were back in the test kitchen this weekend, and this time we tried a recipe we found in the Daily Herald's Food section: S'mores Pie.
I know, I know: Why make things all complicated and messy-- not to mention heating up the house on a 95-degree August afternoon-- when all you need is a box of graham crackers, a bag of marshmallows, a bunch of Hershey bars, and a fire? (or grill, or stove, or... microwave oven?)
Because it was a challenge, that's why. And the pictures looked so good that I just had to see how this thing turned out.
The short answer: it was delicious, but it was complicated. The pie definitely has all the tastes of a campire-created S'more, only instead of getting your fingers sticky you get your plate, fork, and fingers sticky no matter how careful you are eating it.
We didn't use pre-made anything, so everything from the graham cracker crust on up was made from scratch. It helped that there were two of us working on this, since it made some portions of the process-- especially creating the marshmallow topping-- much easier to execute.
We didn't have a 10-inch deep dish pie pan, and this definitely overfilled our 9-incher. That's not a bad thing, but we did have leftover marshmallow topping. Again, not a bad thing. We also used a mixture of a dark chocolate Lindt bar (see my Valentine's Day project) and Nestle's Morsels: the thought here was that adding two cans of sweetened condensed milk could sugar up pretty much anything.
We inadvertently added the egg yolks before the condensed milk and vanilla, which created little soft chocolate lumps in the filling, which I found delightful. Adding the ingredients in the order listed below would probably make the filling completely smooth.
Finally, we used the broiler to get the marshmallow topping toasted; we don't have a kitchen torch, although I'm building my list of reasons to get one.
Would we make this again? Probably in the dead of winter when going into a sugar coma would be a little more acceptable. In the meantime, we'll head out to the firepit the next time we get a S'mores craving.
Enjoy!
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Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons honey
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
2 cans (14 ounces each) sweetened condensed milk
6 egg yolks
teaspoon vanilla extract
Marshmallow topping:
2 cups sugar
½ cup water
3 tablespoons corn syrup
6 egg whites
2¼ teaspoons (1/4-ounce packet) powdered gelatin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a deep 10-inch pie plate with cooking spray.
For the crust: In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, honey, cinnamon and melted butter. Mix with a fork until well combined. Using the back of a spoon or lightly oiled fingers, press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie plate. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until slightly darker golden around the edges.
For the filling: In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring between. Once completely melted, stir in the sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks and vanilla. Pour into the baked crust.
Return the pie to the oven and bake 25-30 minutes, or until the filling is set and just jiggles slightly at the center. Set aside to cool.
When the pie has cooled to room temperature, make the topping: In a small saucepan over medium-high, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup. Heat until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy or instant thermometer.
While the sugar heats, in the bowl of a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to beat the egg whites on medium until they hold soft peaks.
In a small bowl, combine the gelatin and 3 tablespoons of water.
When the sugar syrup reaches 240 degrees, with the mixer running, pour the sugar down the inside edge of the mixer bowl into the egg whites. Add the gelatin mixture and beat to combine. The mixture should be thick and glossy. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure all of the gelatin is incorporated. Beat for another 5 minutes on medium-high, then add the vanilla.
Use a large spoon to top the pie with the marshmallow, making large dollops and peaks with the spoon and completely covering the surface of the pie. Using a kitchen torch, lightly brown the marshmallow, being careful not to burn it. Alternatively, place the pie under the oven's broiler until just browned, rotating the pie as needed for even browning.
Serves eight.
The fine print: read the following at your own risk!
Recipe nutrition: Nutrition values per serving: 859 calories, 32 g fat (18 g saturated), 134 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 16 g protein, 213 mg cholesterol, 308 mg sodium.
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