Black Bottom Pie

[eazzzzzzy]

This is a pain to make but killer good

GINGER COOKIE CRUST---mix 1/4 cup melted butter into 1 1/4 cups gingersnap crumbs,,press into 9" pie pan and bake 325 for 10 minutes--Stick it in the fridge

FILLING---Soften 1 tbsp gelatin (1 envelope) in 1/4 cup cold water and set aside

Mix in sauce pan--1/2 cup sugar,1 1/4 tbsp cornstarch,1/2 tsp salt and 2 cups milk.

Cook over low heat till scalded stirring constantly-DONT BURN IT !

Remove from heat and slowly pour half of it into 4 egg YOLKS that are slightly beaten then blend that into the rest of the hot mixture in the saucepan.Cook over low heat stirring til it begins to boil. Take out 1 cup of this mixture and add to it 1 1/2 square unsweetened chocolate thats melted---beat it well and pour it into the cool GS crust then chill it good.

Stir the gelatin into the remaining hot custard mix then cool it til its set. Beat with mixer til its smooth.

Blend in 1 tbsp rum flavoring ( But I use Baccardi 151) and carefully fold into merangue made of the 4 egg whites,1/4 tsp cream of tartar and a 1/2 cup sugar.

Make the Maringue like this----Beat egg whites with cream of tartar til frothy then add sugar slowly a little at a time. Beat til stiff and glossy

Pile this on the chocolate in the pie shell and chill it for a couple hours---U can shave a little chocolate on it if ya want.

Make sure on the maringue that every thing is cold and clean befor u start --Bowl,beaters,egg whites.

This suckers worth the hassle !!!!!

[jeff]

Post up some pics=) sounds good.

For you newbies.

When you slowly add hot ingredients into eggs it's called tempering. It allows for the hot liquid to mix with the cold eggs without cooking the eggs. this makes for a creamy smooth sauce. if the eggs cook at all you'll get curdles =(

Also

Make sure on the meringue that everything is cold and clean befor u start --Bowl,beaters,egg whites.

I can't push the point enough, you must have yolk free egg whites and a super clean bowl. Also I grew up on the cold bowl cold egg myth.

However. You want the eggs to be room temperature to fluff up to their max.

The separated whites whip to the greatest volume when they are at room temperature. Whites taken directly from refrigeration can be tempered by warming them over a bowl of hot water. The bowl and whip must also be completely free of any grease or fat. Some chefs rinse the bowl and whip with white vinegar, followed by a rinse with very hot water, to remove all traces of grease. The bowl should be large enough to hold the beaten egg whites, which can triple in volume. Begin whipping at a slow to moderate speed, just until the whites start to loosen and become foamy. Increase speed until the eggs hold the desired peeks. If over worked the eggs will break down and get mushy.

[eazzzzzzy]

ur absolutely right on the egg at RT thing ---I was going by memory on this and just messed up ----Also mite be mentioned that some say use a copper bowl---I dont know --I never have

[jeff]

Originally Posted by eazzzzzzy

ur absolutely right on the egg at RT thing ---I was going by memory on this and just messed up ----Also mite be mentioned that some say use a copper bowl---I dont know --I never have

For some reason the copper bowl will be more forgiving then others. The odds of having a failure are less.

not sure why that is.

[BE350Z]

Just incase your REALLY wondering why copper bowls are best for eggs... http://chemistry.about.com/library/w...lcopperegg.htm

[jeff]

Thanks for the link. here's the content.

Are Copper Bowls Really Better for Whipping Egg Whites?
Answer: Yes, Type of Bowl Matters!
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The bowl you use makes a difference when you are whipping egg whites. Copper bowls produce a yellowish, creamy foam that is harder to overbeat that the foam produced using glass or stainless steel bowls. When you whisk egg whites in a copper bowl, some copper ions migrate from the bowl into the egg whites. The copper ions form a yellow complex with one of the proteins in eggs, conalbumin. The conalbumin-copper complex is more stable than the conalbumin alone, so egg whites whipped in a copper bowl are less likely to denature (unfold).

When air is whisked into egg whites, the mechanical action denatures the proteins in the whites. The denatured proteins coagulate, stiffening the foam and stabilizing the air bubbles. If the foam is overbeaten in a non-copper bowl, eventually the proteins become completely denatured and coagulate into clumps. There is no going back from the clumpy mess to nice foamy whites, so overbeaten whites are usually discarded.

If a copper bowl is used, then fewer protein molecules are free to denature and coagulate, because some are tied up in conalbumin-copper complexes. In addition to forming complexes with conalbumin, the copper may also react with sulfur-containing groups on other proteins, further stabilizing the egg proteins. Although the iron and zinc found in other metal bowls also form complexes with conalbumin, these complexes don't make the foam more stable. When glass or steel bowls are used, cream of tartar may be added to egg whites to stabilize the whites.