Pie Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening or lard
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ice water, or more as needed

(I prefer to use Mums perfect pie crust recipe)

Chocolate Filling:
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits and softened
4 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups milk
6 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Meringue Topping:
4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
Finely grated bittersweet chocolate, as garnish

Directions

For the pie crust: In a medium bowl
using a pastry blender or fork, mix
together the flour, butter, shortening,
and salt until the mixture resembles coarse
crumbs. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and mix
just until the water is incorporated.
Add more water as needed to make a smooth
dough. Form the dough into a disk, wrap
tightly in plastic wrap, and let rest in
the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Remove from the refrigerator
and place on a lightly floured surface.
Roll the pastry to a large round,
about 12-inches in diameter. Transfer
to a deep dish 9-inch pie pan,
trim to within 1/2-inch of the pan,
and crimp decoratively. Prick with a
fork, cover, and refrigerate for 20
to 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Line the shell with parchment
paper and fill with pie weights.
Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the
paper and bake until golden brown,
about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from
the oven and cool on a
wire rack.

Filling: In the top of a double-boiler,
or in a metal bowl set over a pot
of barely simmering water, melt the
bittersweet and unsweetened chocolates
and butter,
stirring, until smooth. Remove from the
heat.

In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with
the sugar until thick and pale yellow.

In a medium, heavy saucepan,
heat milk. Add 1 cup of the hot
milk mixture to the yolks and whisk
until smooth. Add the beaten yolk
mixture to the saucepan with the hot
milk and bring to a simmer over medium-low
heat.
Whisk
in the cornstarch and salt and cook
over very low heat until thickened.
Simmer, whisking constantly, until
thick and smooth, about 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and whisk in
the melted chocolate and vanilla.
Cover with plastic wrap, pressing
down on the surface to prevent a
skin from forming, and cool
completely. Pour the filling
into the crust and refrigerate
until cold, at least 4 hours
or overnight.

Meringue: In a large non-reactive
bowl using an electric mixer, beat
the egg whites with the cream of
tartar and salt until soft peaks
start to form. Slowly add the sugar
while beating and continue to beat
until glossy and stiff peaks form.
(Be careful not to overbeat,
as will be difficult to spread.)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Spread the meringue over the
chocolate pie, smoothing out
to the pastry edges
(so the meringue will not draw
up during baking).
With a dull knife, make
decorative peaks in the meringue.
Bake until the meringue is golden,
about 14 to 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool
for at least 2 hours in the
refrigerator. Sprinkle with
grated chocolate, and serve.

(This recipe is harder than it looks.
The tough part is the filling, it takes
a lot of patience to avoid lumps when
mixing the hot chocolate mixture to
the cooler ingredients.  Not a
typical DiMuzio recipe, but
surprisingly good...ENJOY!)







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