- Hey, I'm John Kanell, and today on "Preppy Kitchen"
we're making an easy, delicious chocolate chess pie.
So let's get started.
First off, preheat your oven,
but the temperature depends on your pie crust.
350 if you're using a store-bought crust.
If you're using a homemade one, lightly flour your surface.
I'm gonna roll this out, shape it,
crimp it, and pop it into the oven.
(upbeat music)
If you're making this with a store-bought pie crust,
just skip ahead to the filling at the mark below.
It's gonna be so quick and delicious.
That looks nice.
Transfer the dough to your rolling pin.
All right.
Don't press it in, push it in.
You don't wanna stretch the dough.
Okay.
Trim the dough so you have about an inch of excess.
Now we're gonna fold it under and give it a crimp.
I'm popping this into the freezer for 15 minutes.
In the meantime, get that oven to 425,
unless you have that store-bought pie crust.
Once your pie crust is nice and frozen,
it's time to pop it into the oven, 425 for 15 minutes.
Just add some parchment paper
and baking weights or dried beans.
In you go.
And while that bakes, we'll make the filling.
The filling comes together in one bowl, it's beyond easy.
Start off with one and a half cups,
or 300 grams, of granulated sugar.
For the cocoa powder, you have choices.
Dutch-processed cocoa powder or a natural cocoa powder.
They look different.
So natural is gonna be a little bit more acidic.
The Dutch-processed has been treated,
so you are gonna get a darker color.
It's gonna be a bit fudgier
and I feel it's a bit more chocolatey.
This is great sometimes when you're baking
because the acid reacts and gives you
a wonderful fluffy cake or cupcake.
But this is great for things like brownies or pies.
So today we're gonna use Dutch-processed.
I want 1/4 cup, or about 25 grams.
So, mm.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
If you look inside of here, it's pure rocks.
So let's get a sifter out for this.
Press that out.
25 grams might not seem like a lot,
but the cocoa powder weighs nothing.
So it's a good amount of chocolate.
I'll deal with that problem later. (laughs)
Let's just put this aside.
I love the chocolate flavor in this,
but to me, chocolate never has reached its full potential
unless you add a little bit of coffee.
So if you'd like, you can add 1/2 to 1/4 teaspoon
of espresso powder in here.
If you have kids and you do not want to give them
any more caffeine, then you can skip it totally.
But I think it's like a nice optional addition.
Just mix it in with the filling
and it's gonna taste great.
You won't taste coffee.
It'll just make the chocolate taste richer.
(slow music)
I finished with my scale.
Let's set it aside.
Four large eggs.
This is like a custard pie, to be honest.
Eggs are gonna give you the substance and body,
along with some evaporated milk.
And if you're wondering why it's called chess pie,
you're not alone.
So am I.
I'm like, "What is this random name about?"
I know it's a Southern pie.
The stories for why it's called chess pie are all,
in my opinion, like a little farfetched.
Like everything from the chest,
like just put everything from the chest into the pie.
But with a Southern accent it's chest pie, chess pie.
The other one was that the lady who invented the pie
called it just pie, but with a Southern accent,
this magical Southern accent, it's just pie,
just pie, chess pie. (laughs)
- So, I don't know, there's a couple more.
But if you have the real answer,
you can let me know in the comments.
I am genuinely curious.
All right, so four large eggs.
Hmm, one more.
(upbeat music)
Here we go.
Now it's time to add a little bit of whisking action
to bring this together.
Oh. (laughs)
Whisk it up.
Just be careful, that cocoa powder will fly out.
Okay, get nice and mixed up.
I always think that the secret to, like,
a nice crackled top in a brownie
is just whipping up the eggs
so the sugar really dissolves,
and that's what gives you that glossy finish.
My working hypothesis, is it the same thing for a chess pie?
This pie, of course, needs the magic of butter,
specifically 1/2 cup or 113 grams.
And we're gonna melt it up.
All this talk of a Southern accent has reminded me
that my dad went to basic training in Alabama
and would occasionally speak with a Southern accent.
(laughs) So.
Brings back memories.
When you melt American style butter,
it can explode in the microwave.
So I always like to pop the little paper back on top
so the explosion is contained.
It's gonna be less horrible, if it happens.
Half power, 30 second bursts.
I do wish I had a trenta
with five shots of espresso in it.
I'd be flying high like a bird in the sky.
All right, all melted up.
(bell dinging)
And now we're gonna add in that melted butter.
I'm just gonna whisk as I go.
I have a couple of lumps, but that's okay.
(John laughing)
They'll get worked through.
Mix, mix, mix.
If you didn't have lumps of butter,
you wouldn't have to whisk this much. (laughs)
But it's okay.
Let's see.
Very nice, nice and silky chocolate mixture.
Time for 1/4 cup, or 60 mls, of evaporated milk.
Mix that in.
It'll make it a little bit more creamy
and kind of lightens it up a bit.
Two teaspoons of vanilla extract. Mm.
A final whisk.
I see no lumps, no bumps.
It looks great.
I'm gonna grab my pie crust now.
If you like what you see,
make sure you hit that Subscribe button.
I post twice a week
and there's always a delicious recipe on the horizon.
Grab your pie crust.
This came out of the oven.
Look at that.
It baked up beautifully.
But remember, you only have to bake it if it's homemade.
If it's a store-bought pie crust,
you would burn it to a crisp.
Okay.
My chocolate chess pie is ready to go into the oven.
350 for about 50 minutes.
It'll be puffed and jiggle just a little bit
in the center when it's done.
I'll show what that looks like
so you know when it's perfect and you won't overbake it.
After it comes out of the oven,
your pie is going to deflate.
You might see a lot of cracks.
That's how it's supposed to be.
Allow it to cool completely,
or even chill if you want that nice clean cut.
When you're ready to serve, combine 3/4 cup of heavy cream
and 1/4 cup of powdered sugar.
A little vanilla is optional.
(mixer whirring)
All right.
Whip on high until you have luscious soft peaks.
It only takes a minute.
Don't look at your phone when you make whipped cream.
Okay, that looks perfect.
Okay, let's assemble our pie.
Top with some whipped cream
and maybe some chopped chocolate.,
And just like that, it's ready to enjoy.
All right. Oh my gosh.
(singers vocalizing)
That is so good.
It's so chocolatey, perfectly sweet.
And it's like rich and silky for the filling
with that crackly top, all in a crisp butter crust.
I hope you had a chance to make this recipe.
And if you like this video,
check out my chocolate playlist.
(upbeat music) (singers vocalizing)