Chocolate Meringue Pie

Need a dessert to impress that's not too hard to make? Would it be even better if you didn't have to feel guilty eating that dessert? Here is the solution, an amazing Chocolate Meringue Pie. We had a family dinner the other week, and while it wasn't really fancy it gave me an excuse to make this pie which I had been dying to make. I saw it myrecipes.com and thought it looked so good... and it was. It had a nice light crust, a beautiful moussy centre and a soft marshmellowy meringue.

The evaporated milk makes this pie pretty good for you, so you can enjoy more! Don't panic at the number of steps it's actually not too difficult to make.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cookie crumbs
1/2 cup finely ground walnuts
1/4 cup melted butter

3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 Tbsps Cornflour
2 cups lite evaporated milk (1 can was almost 2 cups, so I topped the last cup up with trim milk)
120g dark chocolate
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract

4 large egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius
2. For the crust, combine the first three ingredients, mixing well.
3. Press the mixture into the bottom and sides of a well greased 9 inch (23cm) pie tin.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
5. Let cool completely.
6. For the filling, combine 3/4 cup sugar, cornflour and salt in a medium saucepan.
7. Whisk in the milk and add the chocolate.
8. Melt the chocolate and bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring constantly.
9. Cook for 1 minute, continuing to stir.
10. Remove from the heat.
11. Gradually add 1/2 cup of the chocolate mixture to the egg yolks.
12. Return the egg mixture to the pan and cook over a medium heat, continually stirring, until thick and custard-like.
13. Stir in the vanilla essence.
13. Spread the mixture into the prepared crust and cover with plastic wrap.
14. Reduce the oven to 160 degrees.
15. For the meringue, place the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in a large bowl.
16. Beat with a mixer at a high speed until foamy.
17. Add the sugar 1 Tbsp at a time, beating until it forms stiff peaks.
18. Add the vanilla and beat until just blended.
19. Remove the plastic wrap from the filling and spread the meringue on top, sealing to the edge of the crust.
20. Bake for 25 minutes.
21. Cool for 1 hour on a wire rack and then chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours.