Page 188 - United States of Pie

In a small bowl, dissolve the gelatin in ¼ cup of cold water. Set
aside.
In a medium-size saucepan, heat the milk until it’s just simmering.

In the top of a double boiler, beat the egg yolks, cornstarch, ½ cup
of the sugar, and the /8 teaspoon of salt. Slowly add the hot milk to
1
the mixture, beating until the mixture is smooth. Place the pan over
simmering water, and whisk constantly until the custard has the
consistency of a loose pudding and coats the back of a spoon, about
8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add the softened gelatin,
and stir well.
In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of the custard with the chopped

chocolate, stirring until the chocolate melts completely. Pour the
chocolate custard into the prepared crust, and refrigerate until cool.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the remaining custard with
the rum, and stir to blend. Cover, and refrigerate until the custard
reaches room temperature, about 45 minutes. At this point, the

custard should still be fairly loose.
When the rum custard is cool, combine the egg whites and the
cream of tartar in a large bowl, and using an electric mixer on high
speed, whip until frothy. Add the pinch of salt, and continue beating.
As the whites turn glossy, slowly add the remaining ½ cup of sugar, 1
tablespoon at a time, incorporating each spoonful before adding the
next. Continue to beat until the whites form stiff peaks but are not

absolutely dry, about 4 minutes. Fold in the vanilla.
Fold the rum custard into the egg whites until completely blended.
Remove the partially filled pie shell from the refrigerator. Spoon the
rum chiffon custard over the chocolate custard, making sure to cover
the chocolate completely. Return the pie to the refrigerator and chill
for a minimum of 4 hours, or as long as 8 hours, before serving.

ONE SCREWY-LOOKING PIE

In true American fashion, black bottom pie has been the subject
of much mythologizing, in spite of—or perhaps because of—its