An Old Fashioned Chocolate Meringue Pie filled with rich chocolate filling and topped with soft pillowy meringue.
*UPDATE! Recipe has been updated to try to fix the chocolate soup problem some people were having.*
I have an extra indulgent sweet treat for you! This chocolate meringue pie is extra rich and super chocolatey. It’s sure to satisfy your sweet tooth and will remind you of grandma’s chocolate pie you grew up eating!
I was a little intimidated to try chocolate pie with meringue because it can cause some heartache. And I will be honest…..it did.
It took me a few tries to get the meringue right so I will share everything I have learned with you as I continue my homemade chocolate pie journey.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Homemade chocolate pie is a classic
- Easy step by step instructions
- It’s light, airy, and rich
- Perfect for holidays, parties, and any occasion
How to make Chocolate Meringue Pie
- Blind bake a crust. You can use a store bought or this All Butter Crust. I also have a detailed post on how to blind bake pie crust!
- Prepare the chocolate pie filling. And be sure it’s super hot because this will cook the bottom side of the meringue which is a must to prevent weeping.
- Make the meringue topping. Pro tip: Cold eggs separate easier but room temperature whites beat taller and fluffier.
- Spread meringue topping over pie. I like to start spreading meringue around the outside of the pie first to make sure the meringue is touching the crust. This will help to anchor the crust and prevent it from shrinking.
- Bake. The chocolale pie with meringue needs to bake to get that nice golden top.
Tips for the best Meringue for Chocolate Pie
- Cleanliness matters! When making any meringue everything must be clean and free of any oil or grease. Don’t use a plastic bowl, it tends to hold onto grease and oil.
- Eggs: Cold eggs separate easier but room temperature eggs whip up to a higher volume. Also, when you separate your eggs make sure there is no yolk in the whites. Not even one tiny drop.
- Sugar: regular granulated sugar can be used (I do it!) but the “professionals” strongly recommend using superfine sugar because it dissolves better.
- Stabilizers: This helps the meringue to be sturdier. You will want to use some sort of acid like cream of tartar (most common), lemon juice, white vinegar, or a copper bowl.
- Humidity is your enemy! If it’s humid outside don’t attempt to make meringue. I don’t think even Ina Garten could make this chocolate pie recipe with meringue successfully on a humid day.
How to make the Meringue topping
Separate the eggs. Again cold eggs separate easier but room temp whip up to greater volume. So, after separating let them sit until room temp (about 20-30 minutes).
Add whites to a large clean bowl and add the cream of tartar or acid of choice. Remember if you are using a copper bowl to whip the whites don’t add an acid.
Beat the whites on medium speed until soft peaks begin to form. At this point, they will look very soft and barely form a peak when the beater is lifted from the whites.
Increase speed to high and add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. The sugar must be added slowly or the whites will not whip up correctly.
Beat until stiff peaks form. When the beater is lifted from the bowl the peaks should stand almost straight up. The whites will also look very smooth and glossy.
Take a small amount and rub it between your fingers. If there is any grittiness then the sugar hasn’t dissolved completely and the meringue will form beads on top after it has been cooked and cooled. Continue to beat until it has dissolved.
Spread meringue over the chocolate pie filling layer quickly. The filling needs to be hot to prevent weeping. I like to start by spreading meringue around the edge of the pie making sure the meringue touches the crust. This seals the pie and prevents the meringue from shrinking. Add remaining meringue to the center and use the back of a spoon to make pretty swirls.
Bake until lightly golden on top. Overbaking can lead to beads forming on the meringue.
Troubleshooting Meringue For Pie
- Beading: Sugary watery droplets that form on the surface of the pie. Caused by sugar not dissolving completely during the whipping process or overbaking the pie.
- Weeping: A watery liquid that forms between the meringue and filling. This is caused by the whites not being cooked completely. The filling must be very hot to prevent this. Pour the hot filling into the baked crust and quickly cover with meringue.
- Shrinking: The meringue pulls away from the sides or loses volume. Be sure to touch the meringue to the crust the whole way around the pie. Also, cornstarch can be added to prevent volume loss.
Yes, you can make it up to one day in advance. It will need to be covered and refrigerated.
Because the refrigerator has a lot of humidity water beads will develop the longer it sits in there.
I don’t recommend freezing the meringue because it simply won’t hold up.
To get the optimal results, you need to allow it time to set up in the fridge. Chilling for at least 4 hours is key to the perfect homemade chocolate pie. Trust me, it’s worth the wait!
I recommend using a 9-inch pie plate when baking any homemade chocolate pie. It’s fine to go with a larger pie plate, but the chocolate pie will be thinner. A 9-inch plate is optimal.
Using an electric mixer or stand mixer will yield stiff peaks in about 4 – 5 minutes. The meringue should appear glossy and if you rub some between your fingers it won’t be gritty.
Looking for more great recipes?
- Devil’s Food Cake
- Brownie Ice Cream Cake
- Homemade Chewy Brownies
- Slow Cooker Pot Roast
- Homemade Oven Roasted Rotisserie Chicken
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Chocolate Meringue Pie
Ingredients
- 1 (9") fully baked pie shell
CHOCOLATE FILLING
- 4 large eggs, separated
- ½ cup (110g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (25g) cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup (45g) all purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 2⅔ cups (630ml) half and half or milk
- ¼ cup (50g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
MERINGUE
- 4 large egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ⅓ cup (70g) granulated sugar
Instructions
CHOCOLATE FILLING
- Separate the egg whites from the yolks and slightly beat the yolks; set both aside. Take great care not to get any yolk with the whites!
- In a 2 quart saucepan mix together the sugar, cocoa powder, flour, and salt. Stir in the half and half OR milk. Cook over medium to medium low heat stirring constantly until mixture begins to boil.
- Very slowly add half of the hot chocolate mixture in a thin stream into the egg yolks while whisking. Return everything to the pan and boil for 1 minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips and vanilla; set aside.
MERINGUE
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add the egg whites and cream of tartar. Mix with the wire whisk attachment on medium speed just until soft peaks begin to form.
- Mixing at high speed slowly add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix until whites have stiff peaks and glossy. Take a small amount of mixture and rub between your fingers. If it is gritty mix at high speed until the gritty feel is gone.
- Pour hot chocolate filling into baked pie crust. Spread meringue around the edges of the pie making sure to touch the crust the entire way around. Add remaining meringue to the center. With the back of a spoon make pretty swirls.
- Bake for 10 minutes or just until the top starts to brown.
- Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Chill for 4 hours before serving. Cover any leftovers and store in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Read my post on How to Blind Bake Pie Crust.
- Be sure to read the post for tips about meringue.
- Have all your ingredients measured and ready to go to ensure the filling stays as hot as possible. Work quickly when spreading the meringue onto the chocolate filling.
- MAKE AHEAD: This pie can be made a day in advance. The meringue may have beads on the surface after being refrigerated and that is hard to avoid because of the humidity in the refrigerator.
Soupy chocolate pudding, worse that soup really
So sorry it didn’t turn out as you had hoped!
Cornstarch is missing from the ingredients in the recipe. Probably why some peoples pie did not turn out.
Thank you for the concern but I changed the recipe a while back to use flour instead of cornstarch and it has worked a lot better and more consistently.
This pie is amazing!
Thank you very much!!
I see cornstarch mentioned in the comments but not in the recipe ingredients? I’m searching for a pie recipe without it, I’m allergic. Is there any hope for me to make a chocolate pie without cornstarch that isn’t just soup? ): help! (Hope this comment posts I am new)
Hello I need help! I’ve been searching for a chocolate pie recipe without cornstarch (I’m allergic) and found this one! In the ingredient list I see none listed. But I was reading through the comments and saw the baker mention using it? I’m confused. Is there any hope for me to make a chocolate pie without cornstarch that isn’t just soup? ):
I am so sorry I didn’t reply to your comment sooner!! My original recipe used cornstarch but I revamped and took out the cornstarch and replaced it with flour because so many were having trouble with the pie turning into soup.
Delicious! My husband says it is the best Chocolate Pie he has ever had.
WOW! Thank you so much for the wonderful compliment!!
I’m so disappointed. I bake ALL the time. I saw this recipe online and the pictures made me choose this recipe over others. I was baking to give someone and can’t now because it is chocolate soup or milk. It never set up.
I am sorry this didn’t turn out for you! I am puzzled as to why it turns out for some and not others! I am currently working on replacing the cornstarch with flour to see how it works and hopefully, it will provide more consistent results for everyone. I will update the recipe tomorrow if it turns out well.
So disappointed! Followed this recipe exactly as written and I arrived at thanksgiving dinner with a pan of chocolate milk. The meringue turned out beautifully but the chocolate didn’t! Not sure if this should be boiled over high heat to decrease stove top time or if I should have baked the chocolate for a while then added the meringue and baked longer to brown it or what. I’m very disappointed because it looks delicious and it was so easy!
I am so sorry. I have had some readers comment with this same issue. I don’t understand why this works for some and not others. I plan to redo this recipe and use flour instead of cornstarch to hopefully eliminate this problem.
Made this for Thanksgiving and it was perfect! I followed the directions and they helped so much. I have made the mistake of the meringue shrinking and also the crystals. The trouble shooting section really helped. Thank you for a great recipe!!
Thank you so much!! I am so glad you liked the pie and so glad the post helped you out!
This was my first time to try chocolate pies. My mom made the best ones but I didn’t learn before I lost her. My meringue was great and that was what I was worried about. The filling did not ever firm up but I put them in the fridge and will check them later. I will try again after thanksgiving. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I have had a few readers comment about this happening and I am beginning to think it’s the cornstarch. I talked with my grandma about this and she feels cornstarch has changed over time and has lost some of its thickening power. I am going to put this recipe on my list to redo and try making the chocolate part with flour instead of cornstarch. I hope to have it fixed before Christmas. Thank you for your comment and for letting me know!
Could I bake the filling a day ahead of time and then heat it to fill the pice crust and top with the meringue?
Sorry, I didn’t reply to your question sooner but that will not work as the cornstarch will break down and it will become soupy.
I followed the recipe to a T, but when I went to serve, the chocolate was totally liquid! I was very careful not to cook the chocolate mixture too long, so not sure what happened. I was so worried about the meringue messing up, and that actually turned out perfect, lol! Anyway, we ate it anyway as more of a pie soup and it was delicious! just still scratching my head about what happened with the chocolate…
I am so sorry this didn’t turn out as you had hoped!! Another reader commented with the same issue. I am not sure what could be causing this. I did do a little research and what I read was stirring too much, cooking too long, or double dipping when tasting can all cause the chocolate to become runny. I’ll try to keep researching and if I find anything different I will let you know. And way to go on the meringue!! That is a challenge to get right!!
My chocolates turned to liquid? I followed the recipe exactly. When I went to serve it the chocolate was liquify..
I am very sorry this didn’t turn out as you had hoped!! By chance could you have measured the cornstarch incorrectly or maybe boiled the chocolate mixture a little too long? Cornstarch breaks down and loses its ability to thicken when cooked too long. Again I am sorry this didn’t work out for you!
I followed your recipe exactly. Everything looked great until I moved the pie to the refrigerator to cook and noticed a lot of liquid. Not sure what went wrong or if the pie will recover once cooled completely in the refrigerator?
Meringue can be a funny thing sometimes. Even weather can affect it. Sorry it didn’t turn out as you had hoped.
About to make this pie for my son’s birthday! Our favorite pie place is closed due to quarantine 😕 wish me luck! I was wondering what size pie dish should I use if I make the butter crust you recommended?
Hi!! A 9″ pie plate will work best for the chocolate meringue pie. I hope he has a wonderful birthday!!
Just got my chocolate meringue pie out of the oven and I can’t wait to eat it later!
Hi Colleen!! I hope you enjoyed your pie!! Thanks for commenting!!
Wondering how far in advance I can make for it to still be fresh.
I usually make it the day before.
This is the best chocolate pie I have ever made!
WOW! I am flattered! Thank you so much!!
This chocolate pie looks great, and the tips on making meringue are so helpful!
Thank you so much!
This was a huge hit! So chocolaty and delicious!
Yay! Thank you so much and so glad you liked it!
This looks heavenly! I cannot wait to try it!
Thanks Megan! Hope you enjoy!