Upside Down Chocolate Meringue Pie

I'm thrilled to present -- on Pi Day, yet -- the most unusual pie I've ever encountered.  Unlike every other chocolate meringue pie, where the custard is chocolate, this one turns convention upside down. The custard is vanilla and the meringue is chocolate. Search as I may, I could not find one other example of this.  The recipe is vintage, probably c. 1940s. If not for the housewife recording (and possibly inventing) this gem, this recipe would be lost to history. Which would be a shame, because it is soooo delicious.

This upside down chocolate meringue pie is light, airy, rather addicting and pretty easy to make.
Below are most of the ingredients you need.

Start the crust by making graham cracker crumbs in a food processor or by placing the grahams in a plastic bag and crushing them with a rolling pin (or wine bottle). Add the melted butter.

Combine the mixture and place in a nine-inch pie plate.

Press the mixture into the pan.

Next, separate the eggs. Because the egg whites (for the meringue) are not cooked, I recommend using non-factory eggs, like those from the farmer's market.

Start the vanilla custard.  The lumps of flour will disappear as the cooking proceeds.

If you're not sure your custard is silky smooth, then push it through a strainer for extra insurance.

The cooked custard, below. Not sure why it looks so yellow in this photo.

Fill the cooled pie shell with the custard, and begin the chocolate meringue.

Whip the egg whites until stiff and gradually add the confectioner's sugar.

Fold in the melted chocolate carefully and spread over the custard. Be sure to reach the edges.

Tada! One indication that this is a vintage recipe is that proportions are modest.  Neither the filling nor meringue are "supersized."

The pie kept well in the refrigerator for two days!

Production notes for the crust: I used butter, but Nucoa is a margarine that first appeared in the 1930s, and is still available but with a different formulation. There's even a Facebook page called Bring Back Original Nucoa (which was dairy and lactose-free). I had to bake the crust about seven minutes, instead of five.

Production notes for filling: To achieve success, you need to beat the egg yolks slightly and temper them. This simply means that you place a small amount of the hot custard into the eggs while stirring to warm them before to the very hot custard. If you just added them, you'd have scrambled egg yolks. Although the instruction wasn't there, I stirred the vanilla into the custard at the very end.

Production notes for filling: I always use cream of tartar when beating egg whites, which prevents overbeating. I think salt serves the same purpose, though. Fold the melted chocolate very carefully into the egg whites to prevent them from deflating. I used a plastic spatula for this.

This pie was enjoyed with some of the fine people renovating my house, like Zeke, a musician and cabinetmaker who worked on my beautiful new closet, designed by Robert Kalka.

Lemon Bars

Lemon Bars, like this one from a vintage recipe card, were ubiquitous during my childhood -- a plate of these tart and sweet treats appeared at nearly every gathering, from the ladies' afternoon card games to pot luck dinners. Created by Betty Crocker in in 1963, the lemon bar caught on like wildfire. And for good reason -- they are a delicious combination of a cookie base topped by a tart lemon custard. They are still quite popular, albeit with some modern twists, like the addition of lemon zest to ramp up the lemon flavor.

Did I mention these are a snap to make? I whipped these up for my dear friend Suzanne, a huge fan of my red velvet cake. And I hope these lemon bars too!

Let's get started. Using a stand or electric mixer, combine the flour, butter and confectioner's sugar for the base. Place the mixture into the baking pan and, using your hands (I always wear gloves), press it down...

Until it is spread evenly.

Bake for 15 minutes. It will look rather raw, but remember, it will get a second baking.

Prepare the lemon topping, which you can do while the crust is baking.  Beat the eggs well, and add the sugar, flour and baking powder.  Mix it well.

It should look like this.

Pour it over the prepared crust and pop it in the oven.

Remove it from the oven and let it cool a bit.

Sprinkle it with confectioner's sugar, using a strainer for even coverage. Let cool completely and cut into squares.

Production notes: I followed the recipe almost exactly, but have typed out instructions below this rather stained recipe card. I tried to create a sling with parchment paper, but didn't cover the entire pan as I usually do.  It was a big fail, and I could not get the cake out in one piece. I also beat the eggs first, really, really well (not to the point where they form a ribbon, but almost).

Sophie's Lemon Bars

Preheat oven to 350F

Crust:
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. confectioner's sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well (w. electric mixer)
Place into an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 inch square pan.
Press into pan.
Bake 15 minutes.

Topping:
4 T. fresh lemon juice
2 large eggs
1 c. sugar
2 T. flour
1/2 t. baking powder

Beat eggs a lot. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix very well.

Pour over crust and bake for 25 minutes.
Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar when almost cool.
They will firm up while cooling.
Cut into bars.

Lemon-Cake Pudding

We were having friends over on Sunday so I made two round yellow things -- a frittata for the main course and this uber delicious Lemon-Cake Pudding for dessert from a c. 1940s recipe. Not only was it delicious, but it was magic -- though I put just one batter in the oven, during baking it turned into two: a light delicate cake atop a lemony custard pudding.

There are a few steps involved, but none are that difficult. And when the payoff is lemon magic, then it's well worth the effort.

Start by juicing some lemons.

Then, set out all of your ingredients. Put the dry ingredients (plus some butter) in one bowl, separate the eggs, and measure out the milk and lemon juice.

After you mix all these up, you'll have three bowls -- all of which are combined in the end. The egg-milk mixture is added to the main batter.

The final step is carefully folding in the egg whites. I always add a bit of cream of tartar when I beat the whites, so as not to dry them out.

After blending, pour into the ungreased pan.  Mine could have been blended a bit better; note the swirls of white.

Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes. Next time, I'd bake this a bit longer than the 50 minutes I did.

It's a bit messy to get the first slice out, but rather easy after that.

Production notes: I followed the recipe almost exactly, and have written it out below the vintage card.

Lemon-Cake Pudding

Preheat oven to 350F
Place a large baking dish in the oven and fill water until it is 1/3 of the way up the sides. This will be your water bath. Make sure your 8- or 9-inch square or round ungreased cake pan will fit comfortably in it. (Or cheat like I did and just put cake pan in the larger pan, place in the oven, and fill the baking pan with water.)

1 c. sugar
4 TBS flour
1/8 t salt
2 TBS butter, softened to room temperature
5 TBS fresh lemon juice
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1 1/2 c whole milk

Juice about two small lemons to get 5 tablespoons of juice.
Place sugar, flour, salt, softened butter in a bowl.  Mix thoroughly.
Add lemon juice and mix. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

Beat the egg yolk, add the milk and combine well.

Add the egg-milk mixture to the flour mixture and combine well.
Carefully fold in the egg whites.

Pour into cake pan and place in the oven.

Bake about 45 to 50 minutes. The top should be golden brown.

Brownies (yet again)

I often consider brownies the lowest common denominator of American desserts. There's no challenge, no joy of victory (and also rarely the agony of defeat).

But they have a lot going for them. Brownies are simple enough for a child to make, require no advance preparation (softening butter, letting dough rise, etc.), need only the most basic of tools (heat source, bowl, pan and spoon), and use ingredients available at the corner bodega.

They are perfect in any season -- summer for picnics, winter for an after school or lunch box snack. And they are also very quick to make and are sturdy travelers. So quick, in fact, that I began a batch just hours before a flight, intending to take them as a gift for my mother who loves all things chocolate.

Plus, who doesn't love a good brownie! I have literally dozens of vintage brownie recipes (like this one, probably from the 1950s), so it has been a longtime favorite in the American kitchen. This one is quite good, not the knock-yer-socks off brownie, but simple, direct, flavorful and rather addicting.

Get started by creating a double boiler -- just a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Place the butter and chocolate in the bowl and heat until they melt.

While that mixture is cooling, beat the eggs and sugar well, then add the chocolate and vanilla.

Sprinkle on the flour and baking powder and mix to combine. Add the nuts.

Pour the batter into a greased (or parchment lined) 8 x 8 inch pan.  You can also line the pan with foil -- lining makes it easy to lift the brownies in a single cake from the pan. I also sprinkled some sea salt on the top before baking. I'd recommend this -- salt really enhances the flavor.

Slice and enjoy!

Production notes: I halved this recipe, and have written out the instructions below.

Brownies

Preheat oven to 375F
2 eggs
1.5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3/4 c. + 2 tbs. sugar
4 tbs. butter
6 tbs. flour
1/4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
Sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Place chocolate and butter in a bowl, and place the bowl atop a saucepan with a couple of inches of water in it. Heat mixture until it is melted. Remove from heat.
In a bowl, beat eggs, add sugar in thirds, beating well after each addition.
Add cooled chocolate and butter.
Add vanilla.
Add sifted flour and baking soda and stir combined.  Add nuts.
Pour into greased 8 x 8 cake pan. Sprinkle some sea salt on the top if using.
Bake about 15 minutes.

Rhubarb Meringue Pie

Just when I was thinking that there was nothing new under the spring sun for rhubarb desserts, I encountered this wonderful vintage recipe. Unlike most rhubarb pie recipes, where the rhubarb remains chunky, this creates a smooth filling (think applesauce, only with rhubarb). The filling is cooked first, then poured into a baked pie crust.

It is a very, very delicious pie, with the sweet and tart flavors characteristic of rhubarb. It's not hard to prepare, but not super easy, either. But so worth it, especially for its novelty. Even though I ruined the meringue, it still worked. (Hint: Don't try to wing this, and use a recipe instead, If you follow a recipe and don't overbeat the meringue as I did, you will have a much better looking pie.)

Let's get started. The rhubarb I used was purchased at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market (couldn't resist the ruby red stalks) and flown back in my carry on luggage.

Cut the rhubarb into small pieces. You'll only need two cups, which was about three very large stalks.

Place the rhubarb in a two-quart (or medium size) saucepan, add sugar and butter. Cover and cook for about ten minutes, until the rhubarb chunks disappear.

Mix up the filling sauce -- egg yolks (reserve the white for the meringue), cornstarch, sugar, salt and heavy cream. Temper it (warm it up) by adding some of the hot rhubarb liquid to it before pouring it in the saucepan to prevent scrambled eggs.

Cook this mixture until it's thick.

Before you start all of this, prepare and blind bake an eight- or nine-inch pie crust. (Recipe below.)

Pour the filling in the pie crust. It was not a super generous amount, typical of mid-20th century recipes, but with the meringue, it will fill out nicely.

Make the meringue (the right way!) with the reserved egg whites and add on top of the filling.

Bake about ten minutes in a 350 F oven to brown the top.

Enjoy!

Production notes: I followed the recipe exactly, but have written it out since the card is a bit confusing.

Rhubarb Meringue Pie

2 c. chopped rhubarb
1 c. sugar + 1/4 c. sugar + sugar for meringue
2 T unsalted butter
2 eggs (separated)
1/4 c. heavy cream
1/2 t. salt
2 T cornstarch

1 baked pie crust (recipe below)

Place rhubarb, 1 c. sugar and butter in saucepan. Cover and cook until soft. The rhubarb will break down.
In a small bowl, combine egg yolks, 1/4 c. sugar, salt, cornstarch and heavy cream.  Whip to combine.
Add a few tablespoons of the hot rhubarb mixture to the cream mixture, and stir to combine.
Add the cream mixture to the saucepan while stirring.
Cook until thickened.
Pour into the pie crust.

Meringue
Make meringue with reserved egg whites. I screwed up the meringue, making it from memory, rushing as our dinner guest was ringing the doorbell! Look up a recipe to find a good one. One way to prevent overbeating the whites is to add a bit of cream of tartar to the mixture at the beginning, a step I skipped. Just be sure to seal the edges of the pie with the meringue to prevent weeping.

Bake the pie for ten to 12 minutes in a 350F oven, just to brown the meringue.

My favorite pie crust recipe (makes two crusts)

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 stick of cold butter, cut into small pieces
6 T. cold Crisco, cut into pieces
2 t. sugar
1 t. salt
3 - 6 T. cold water

Place dry ingredients in a food processor and whirl to blend.  Add butter and Crisco and process until it resembles cornmeal. Add the water, a couple of tablespoons at a time, through the feed tube, mixing just a second or two after each addition. Remove from the bowl directly into a plastic bag and smoosh it all together. 
To blind bake it, roll out about half the dough into a circle and transfer into a pie plate. Crimp the edges.  (Reserve the other half for your next pie) I roll the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap. Keep the top layer of plastic wrap on the pie (I do this with Costco wrap) or line it with aluminum foil. Fill the center with pie weights of dry beans and bake in a 425 F oven for ten minutes.  Remove the lining and weights, prick the bottom with the tines of a fork and return to the oven for about ten minutes until it is lightly browned.
Note: If you have time, refrigerate the crust before baking for at least an hour to help retain the crimping on the edge.