Chocolate Cream Pie with Swiss Meringue

Directions

Place the wafers into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment; pulse until finely ground. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl.

Add the melted butter, and stir until well combined. Press the crumbs onto the bottom and about 2-inches up the sides of an 8-inch springform pan. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.

Pour the milk into a small bowl. Add the gelatin, swirling to combine. Set aside to soften in the milk for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour the cream and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar into a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Add the gelatin and milk mixture, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate and 1 teaspoon vanilla; cover, and let stand about 5 minutes to melt. Stir the mixture to assure the chocolate has melted properly.

Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve directly into the chilled crust; leave any chocolate or gelatin lumps in the sieve to discard. Carefully move the filled crust to the refrigerator to chill uncovered for six hours or up to overnight. You may elect to cover the filled crust with plastic wrap only after the filling has cooled completely.

Place the egg whites and 1 ½ cups bakers sugar into a heat proof bowl. Set the bowl over a barely simmering pan of water. Stir the mixture constantly until the egg whites are a bit warmer than body temperature and all the sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes. You should not be able to detect any grit when the mixture is rubbed between your fingers. Use the whisk attachment of an electric mixer to beat the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes.

Add the remaining ½ teaspoon vanilla; raise the speed to high and continue beating until stiff and glossy, but not yet dry (about 5 to 10 minutes more depending on your tools and method).

Remove the filled crust from the refrigerator. Using a rubber spatula, drop big heaps of the meringue on top, lifting the spatula to create peaks. Use a kitchen blow torch to brown the top of the meringue. You may alternatively brown the top in a preheated 500 degree oven. Watch it carefully as it will brown quickly.

Chill the pie well before serving. Carefully remove the ring from the spring form pan and cut into 8 slices, wipe the knife clean with warm water after every slice of the knife. Serve immediately.