Momma learned to bake from her mother, Ethel, and her mother-in-law, Anna. Now the way Momma tells it, Ethel was slow as a doodle. And I witnessed that in my lifetime. I was one of the lucky ones to have a grandmother well into my 40s. She lived to know all of my children. I did not realize then just how lucky I was. But she never got in a hurry. Momma said as kids, they would nearly starve to death waiting on a meal.
Momma lived with Anna, her MIL, while Daddy completed his service time in the Marines during WWII. So Anna taught her many of the basics including pie-making. Daddy loved sweets and she loved to feed him and anyone else that happened to drop by.
As you can tell, Momma not only liked to bake, she liked looking pretty. She loved her lipstick and pretty dresses. Now, she didn’t mind getting dirty because she also loved her yard and flowers after they bought their own place. But cooking and baking was her thing. And now it is my thing. Oh and yes ma’am, I do love my lipstick!
She preferred cooking milk chocolate rather than a darker chocolate pie. I have to say she was very frugal so it could have been to save on her unsweetened Hershey’s cocoa. I mean we are talking about someone that reused zip locks. She rinsed out ziplock bags until they had tears in them. She even had a contraption to dry them quickly. She knew the value of money and stretched it as far as it could go. And yes, they could have had raw chicken in them! She reused it over and over and we never got sick. We must have had strong constitutions!
She always made a regular meringue with egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. I discovered the addition of marshmallow cream when I got older.
So here it is, Momma’s chocolate pie. If you haven’t tried it, please do. As a side note, I do not waste time on crusts. That is just me. I use the Pillsbury refrigerated crust, roll it between two sheets of wax paper, and drop it into the pie tin. Flute the edges and prick a few holes in the bottom. I bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.
MOMMA'S MILK CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE
Velvety smooth milk chocolate cream topped with thick meringue
Ingredients
Cream Pie
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 8 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons of Hershey's Cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1 can evaporated milk, 12 oz
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 4 egg yolks, room temp
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 4 tablespoons butter, room temp
- 1 baked pie crust.
Meringue
- 4 egg whites
- 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 jar of Kraft's Marshmallow Cream 7 oz.
Instructions
PIE
Separate yolks and whites.
In a heavy saucepan, add sugar. Sift the flour and cocoa powder over the sugar and whisk well.
Pour evaporated milk and whole milk into the saucepan. Stir well.
Add yolks and stir well. Turn heat on medium. After the chocolate heats up, turn up to medium-high and continually stir with a whisk.
Keep a small strainer nearby and if small bits of the white come to the surface, dip out and discard.
Continue whisking very frequently. The mixture will begin to thicken. It is important to continue to stir while this is occurring.
When the mixture begins to form large bubbles, continue to cook about 3-5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir the vanilla and butter in.
Pour into baked Pie Crust.
MERINGUE
Pour the egg whites into a mixer. Begin beating on slow.
When the whites begin to look foamy, add cream of tartar and sugar slowly.
Beat on high for about 5 minutes. The meringue will be completely white and thickening.
Turn mixer off briefly to drop in marshmallow cream. and turn on high for about a minute.
Spread mixture over pie. Be sure to seal the edges where you cannot see any chocolate.
Place in oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. It will be golden brown. Check it after minutes to see if it is as "golden: as you want.
Cool and refrigerate.
Notes
Sometimes I add more Marshmallow cream because I love a mile-high meringue.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 532Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 206mgCarbohydrates: 92gFiber: 1gSugar: 73gProtein: 9g
Nutrition information can vary for a recipe based on factors such as precision of measurements, brands, ingredient freshness, or the source of nutrition data.
“By sowing frugality we reap liberty, a golden harvest.”
–Agesilaus II