This pie has never failed me.
—My Mom
What a pleasure to spend some time in my Mom’s Midwest kitchen over these last few days (just look at her cute little spice drawer below; how wonderful). Remember I told you I was going to show you some spots where I feel ‘at home’? Well this is certainly one of them!
As long as I can remember my Mom has had certain recipes which she stands by and loves to make over and over. Chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon sugar cookies are two in her regular rotation. She has mastered these recipes and makes them without notes! That sort of confidence is really the best thing about a ‘Mom’, isn’t it?
Well this week we were having some friends/family over for desserts and visiting so I made a cobbler (one of my favorite recipes which I’ll definitely share with you this summer) and my Mom made her famous Chocolate Mousse Pie. Turns out it’s not my Mom’s famous pie but her old friend Rita’s. I love how I found the recipe in my Mom’s recipe book … all typed out and very simply put. I adjusted a few things here to match what my Mom did. This pie is delicious and really simple. ‘Takes a lot of bowls,’ my Mom declared. And with no baking involved (except for the pie crust of course) it makes for an easy dessert on a hot day.
Rita’s Chocolate Mousse Pie
circa 1971
1 baked pie shell, completely cooled
2 egg whites
2 C whipping cream, separated into 1 C measurements
6 oz semi sweet chocolate
1 egg
2 egg yolks
1 T rum
chocolate bar for top (optional)
1. Whip 1 C cream; store in fridge.
2. Whip egg whites until stiff; store in fridge.
3. Melt chocolate; cool a little.
4. Beat into the chocolate the whole egg + yolks one at a time.
5. Add rum, beat.
6. Take whites & cream from fridge and fold whites into cream.
7. Fold that whites/cream mixture into chocolate; make sure it’s well mixed.
8. Pour mixture into pie shell and refrigerate for several hours.
9. A few hours before serving whip remaining 1 C cream and frost pie; add chocolate curls if you like.
Notes: All eggs for this recipe should be room temperature. I used this pie crust recipe; always love it. My mom likes to do the pie early in the morning if she is serving it at night; she says it ‘sets’ better with more time in the fridge.
Thanks for sharing the recipe, Mom. I love you!