Ingredients
¼ cup finely ground walnuts
1 package (6 oz) semisweet chocolate pieces
6 eggs, at room temperature, separated
⅓ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 8-inch pie plate; sprinkle with ground nuts; set aside. In top of double boiler over hot, not boiling, water, melt chocolate. Remove from heat and let cool.
In large mixer bowl beat egg yolks until thickened. Add granulated sugar gradually and continue beating until mixture becomes thick and lemon-colored. Beat in chocolate, liqueur and vanilla; set aside.
Wash and dry mixer beaters thoroughly. In small mixer bowl beat egg whites and salt until stiff but not dry. Stir ¼ of the whites into chocolate mixture. Gently fold in remaining whites. Pour half the mixture (about 2 cups) into prepared pie plate. Smooth top with spatula. Refrigerate remaining chocolate. Bake pie 25 minutes. Turn off oven and let stand in oven 5 minutes without opening the door. Remove from oven; let cool on wire rack 2 hours. (it will fall slightly - this forms the shell.) Spoon reserved filling into shell; chill approximately 3 hours.
One hour before serving: Place beaters and small mixer bowl in refrigerator to chill. At serving time, beat heavy cream until thickened; gradually adding confectioners sugar and continue beating until thick. Garnish pie with whipped cream. Serve at once. Makes 8 to 10 servings.