(5 fl oz (¼ pint)) double cream, at room temperature
2tsp.
espresso powder dissolved in 100ml hot water
FOR THE MERINGUE TOPPING
4
medium egg whites
200g
(7oz) caster sugar
2tsp.
cornflour
Directions
Step 1
To make the pastry: Pulse flour and cocoa together in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add sugar and pulse to incorporate. Add the egg and pulse again until mixture begins to clump together (if it looks dry, add a few drops of cold water and pulse again). Tip on to a work surface, bring together into a disc, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30min. If you don’t have a food processor, sift flour and cocoa powder together, then rub butter into the flour mixture. With a blunt-ended knife, mix in the sugar followed by the egg, and then bring together before chilling.
Step 2
Lightly flour a work surface and roll out pastry. Use it to line a fluted 23cm (9in) round, loose-bottom tin (about 3.5cm/1⅓in deep). Prick base all over with a fork, then chill again for 20min. Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan) mark 5.
Step 3
Line the pastry case with baking parchment and fill with baking beans or raw rice. Bake for 20-25min or until sides are set. Carefully remove paper and beans/rice and return to oven for about 5min or until base is sandy to the touch. Set aside.
Step 4
Reduce oven temperature to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Make the filling: gently melt chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool a little. With an electric hand whisk, beat eggs and sugar for 5min until light and creamy. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, followed by the cream and espresso. Spoon into the tart case and bake for 35-40min until puffed up and just set.
Step 5
When the filling is nearly cooked, make the meringue topping. Beat the egg whites in a large, clean bowl with a handheld electric whisk until they hold stiff peaks. Gradually add the sugar, beating constantly, until thick and glossy. Whisk in cornflour. Remove pie from oven, and working from the outside in, pipe or spoon over meringue. Turn oven up to 230°C (210°C fan) mark 8. Return the pie to the oven for 3-4min, until meringue is tinged brown. Remove from oven and set aside for at least half an hour to cool slightly before removing from the tin and serving warm.
GH TIP This recipe contains partially cooked eggs, so be sure to look for the British Lion stamp.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
