Angus Barn Chocolate Chess Pie

Y’all. In the Triangle area, no restaurant is more famous than the Angus Barn.  It is exactly what it sounds like but so much more.  The restaurant itself is literally a barn.  But on the inside is an award-winning fine dining experience.  The executive chef competed on Iron Chef!  Angus Barn is one of those local institutions where you set a calendar reminder months in advance in hopes of getting a coveted reservation during the Christmas Season.  With all of this, they are also known for their famous Angus Barn Chocolate Chess Pie. 

The recipe itself is fairly simple, but there is just something magical about the Angus Barn Chocolate Chess pie.  It’s almost like a brownie because the top has that glossy/flaky situation, but underneath the pie is a gooey chocolate center.  I made a couple of minor modifications relating to the pie crust, but either way you make it will be fantastic. 

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Ingredients

• A frozen pie shell.  For this recipe, I used my -go to pie crust recipe, the Vodka Pie Crust.  Store bought is literally what they recommend so choose your own adventure. 
• Unsalted butter.  The butter
• Semi-sweet chocolate.  I used Semi-Sweet Baker’s Squares, but you can use any semi-sweet chocolate.  If you want to impress, maybe splurge for a nicer chocolate like a Lindt or Ghirardelli. 
• Granulated Sugar.  The sugar in this recipe sweetens the chocolate but also is whisked together with the eggs to provide structure to the overall pie filling
• Eggs.  In this recipe the eggs are the only thing that will create a rise.  There won’t be much lift, but there will be just enough protein from the eggs to create a stable filling once the pie is baked. 
• Vanilla extract.  Adds a counter balance of flavor to the chocolate filling. 
• A dash of salt [This is literally the instruction from the website.  I used ¼ teaspoon, but dash can mean many things to many people]. 

Kitchen Equipment

• Glass bowl
• Measuring cups/spoons
• Optional heavy bottom pot
• Whisk
• Cookie sheet
• Parchment paper

How to Make Angus Barn Chocolate Chess Pie

1. Blind Bake the Crust.  Blind baking is the process of baking the crust without the filling to prevent the bottom crust from turning out soggy.  To blind bake you’ll bake the crust filled with weights at a 425ºF for 15-20 minutes.  The “pie weights” can be actual store bought pie weights, or you can use pantry staples, beans, rice or granulated sugar to fill the pie shell.  After 15-20 minutes the pie crust should be starting to brown, take the weights out of the shell and bake for a couple more minutes to make sure that the bottom of the crust is no longer shiny and has a matte appearance. Remove the pie crust from the oven and set it on a wire rack to cool.  Turn the oven temperature down to 350ºF. 
2. Melt the Chocolate and Butter.  The goal here is to gently melt the semi-sweet chocolate and the butter. Once the chocolate and butter is melted, set aside to cool for a few minutes. You can be melt the chocolate and butter in one of two ways
   1. Using a pot filled with 2 inches of water and a glass bowl that sets right on top of the pot; or
   2. In the microwave. 
3. Whisk it all together. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla extract  together until the eggs lighten in color about 2 minutes.  Whisking air into the eggs is what creates that gorgeous crack on the top of the pie.  Then stir in the cooled chocolate/butter mixture. 
4. Bake it.  Pour the pie filling into the cooled pie crust and bake for 30 minutes more. 

Cracks in a Chocolate Chess Pie: 

Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I love a good crater or crack in a chess pie.  The top olayer of this pie has just enough texture to go along with the gooey center.   If you don’t want your chocolate  chess pie to have that crater/crack. Remove the pie from the oven 3-5 minutes earlier than written.  The center should be just set and still slightly jiggling. As the pie cools, the center will continue to set. 

Storing 

Because this Chess Pie recipe involves eggs, after the pie is cooled, wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator.  When you are ready to serve it, you can set it out the counter to get to room temperature. 

Variations/ Substitutions

• The original recipe from the angus barn does not require you to blind bake the pie crust.  
• Chocolate & Coffee.  I think this recipe would do well with a tablespoon of espresso powder. I would add it to the melted chocolate/butter mixture to make sure it dissolves properly before folding it into the rest of the batter. 

Related

Want another slice of pie?  Check out these recipes to try: 

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