You know those chocolate oranges you get during the holidays? They come in the shiny wrapper, shaped like an orange and they are sliced into little chocolate segments when you unwrap them? Well, this is that same flavor but in the form of a pie.
I like trying out new ideas in the kitchen and this was one that seemed like fun! All of that beautiful citrus in the share always inspires me to bake.
Chocolate Orange Pie
Ingredients
1 sleeve of graham crackers
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 oranges
6 tablespoons melted butter
3 eggs
I went with a graham cracker crust, of course if you aren’t a fan of graham crackers you can make a standard pie crust as well, just make it a chocolate one! I placed one sleeve of crackers into a plastic bag and used a kitchen hammer to crunch them up into a sand like texture.
One sleeve is the perfect amount to get you 1 1/2 cups of crumbs. To your crumbs add 1/3 cup of granulated sugar.
Don’t forget the zest of one of your oranges from the share. Save the fruit of course, we will need its juice. Also add 6 Tablespoons of melted butter.
Mix it together well and pour it into a pie plate. Using your hands press the crumb mixture down into the pan and all the way up the sides. Place it in a preheated 375 degree oven for 10 minutes. Make sure your crust hardens.
It’s time to make the custard with your Springdell eggs. Crack three eggs, carefully separating the whites from the yolks. Place three yolks and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar in a dish, stirring quickly until the mixture is a light yellow color. Note: I used the same measuring cup I had the graham cracker crumbs in, why dirty another dish? Also, save the whites!
Add the zest of one orange to the mix. Next, juice the two oranges you zested as well as two others, four total, this will give you 1 cup of orange juice. Be sure to pour your juice through a strainer to remove the pulp and small seeds that remain.
Add that to the egg mixture and incorporate it very well.
Pour the custard mixture into the pie shell. Bake this for 10 minutes in a 450 degree oven, then lower the temperature to 350 and cook for another 15 minutes or until the custard is set. Note: if your crust is not solid, baked well, the custard will seep into the crust. That isn’t a bad thing, you will just have more of a cake texture with meringue on top.
While that is cooking, make your merengue. Here are some action shots from my mixer:
The three whites from your eggs go into the mixer to get frothy…
When they are frothy, slowly add 6 Tablespoons of granulated sugar. If you’d like a more orange flavor you can add 1/2 teaspoon of orange extract now too…
Whip until stiff peaks form in your mixture.
This is what stiff peaks look like.
When the custard is set spread the meringue on top of the pie. Put it back into the oven and bake for another 10 minutes until the top is a nice golden brown.
There you have it. Enjoy!