This chocolate chess pie is thickened with fine cornmeal and eggs, and the chocolate is reinforced with the addition of just enough instant coffee and salt to make it sing.
¾teaspoonkosher salt(use slightly less if using fine sea salt)
Instructions
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350F.
Slowly melt the butter so that it remains creamy. It should stay emulsified and not separate into clear yellow, runny butter. I melted mine in the microwave in short bursts at medium power until it was mostly melted, then I whisked it until all the butter was melted. Pour the creamy melted butter into a medium-sized bowl.
Add the dark brown sugar,* making sure there are no lumps in it, the cocoa powder, eggs,cornmeal, epsresso powder, vanilla and salt.
Whisk very well to make a smooth batter. Scrape the bowl a couple of times to make sure all the ingredients are evenly incorporated in the batter.
Pour the batter into the frozen pie crust.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the entire pie is puffed up but is still a little jiggly in the center. You may have to cover the crust with foil after the first 20 minutes or so to prevent over-browning, so keep an eye on it.
Remove the pie from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Serve warm or cold, with or without ice cream or whipped cream.
Enjoy!
Notes
*If you can't find dark brown sugar, use 10.5 oz light brown sugar and 1 Tablespoon molasses.