S'Mores Pie

Tysa Marie
Apr 1, 2013
4 min read

S'Mores. Pie. S'Mores Pie! The comfort food of happy campers makes for a picture perfect pie for Easter 2013. The "Back in the Day Bakery" is a husband and wife team dedicated to southern desserts and breads in Savannah, Georgia. They are also the creators of this S'More Pie recipe. I've never been to the bakery, but had a friend who went there last year and brought me back a copy of their cookbook since "I like to bake."

Gifting me things that revolve around baking has become a new trend with my friends and family. They say, I'm hard to buy for and that this is the one area they have success... I say, it seems like the 'gift that keeps on giving.'

I'm pretty sure this book would make anyone 'like to bake.' It's filled with wonderful, southern classics like Hummingbird Cake and new, little twists such as Mexican Hot Chocolate cookies (I've also made these - they're delightful). I chose to make this pie because my favorite thing about s'mores is their gooey factor. Everyone loves the buttery crunch of the graham crackers with good, ol' Hershey's Chocolate and roasted marshmallows sandwiched in between them. This pie packs a lil' crunch and a whole lot of flavor in an easily edible, gooey package. Seemed like the perfect dessert for Easter to me. I should admit: I was a little intimidated when I read through the instructions. But I quickly realized while make the pie that the directions were just VERY precise and well-organized to help the user create the best product. Try not to be intimidated by the 15-step directions.

Here's what I learned from making this recipe:

Keebler Graham Cracker Crumbs are worth the money. Buying a box of graham crackers and crumbling them yourself may be a little cheaper, but the time-saving factor of pre-crumbled crackers makes the extra dollar worth it. The only thing you bake for this pie is the crust. Using the Keebler crumbs, I made and baked my crust in under 15 minutes (and it tasted so much better than the store-bought crust).
Using a timer for the double boiling is quite helpful. I will freely admit that I had to make the custard twice. My first batch didn't thicken properly because I didn't cook it long enough. Using a timer the second time, really helped me focus on the custard and not second guess how much cooking time had passed.
You don't need a pastry bag but you do need a kitchen torch. If you don't have a pastry bag to pump out the marshmallow topping over the pie, use a large Ziploc bag. By cutting off one of the corners, you've created a pastry bag - just pump, swirl and move the topping over the pie. You do need a kitchen torch, however. There is no replacing that key tool. You could try to use your oven broiler, but you'll probably ruin the no-bake chocolate filling.

S'More Pie

Crust Ingredients:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (16 crackers)

1/4 cup light brown sugar

8 tablespoons, unsalted butter, melted

Custard Ingredients:

5 large egg yolks

6 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp

Marshmallow Ingredients:

6 large egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Yields: 8 servings

Prep Time: 60 minutes

Bake Time: 6-8 minutes

Directions:

Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F to make the crust.
In a medium bowl, blend together the dry ingredients. Drizzle in the butter and mix with a fork until the crumbs are evenly moistened.
Press the mixture evenly over the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan.
Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly golden.
Let cool completely before filling
Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a heatproof bowl to make the filling. Mix until it is thick and pale in color. Set aside.
In a medium sauce pan, bring the milk to a gentle boil. Whisk about 1/2 cup of the milk into the bowl with the egg yolks to temper the eggs, then continue to whisk the mixture while adding the remainder of the milk in a steady stream.
Set the bowl over a medium saucepan of simmering water and cook the egg-milk mixture, whisking constantly, until thick and glossy (5 to 7 minutes).
Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the vanilla and melted chocolate until well combined. Let the filling mixture sit for 2 minutes to cool slightly, then whisk in the butter cut into small cubes until the custard is smooth and silky.
Place plastic wrap directly on top of filling so that a skin does not form and let cool for 30 minutes or until it reaches room temperature.
Pour the cooled filling into the prepared crust. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
Make the marshmallow topping by putting the egg whites, cream of tartar, and sugar in a large heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a medium saucepan of simmering water, and whisk constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved and the egg whites are warm to touch (3 to 4 minutes). The mixture will appear pale and opaque. Rub a little of the mixture between your fingers to make sure the sugar is completely dissolved.
Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the vanilla and starting on low speed, whip the egg whites, gradually increasing the speed to high, until the marshmallow topping is glossy and forms stiff peaks (5 to 7 minutes).
Fill a pastry bay fitted with a large plain tip with the marshmallow topping and pipe it over the entire surface over the pie. Then loosely pile the rest of the marshmallow topping on top and use a spatula to spread it in big, luscious swirls.
Toast the topping lightly with a kitchen blowtorch. Enjoy!