Chocolate Chiffon Pie

Ingredients

• 1 pre-baked 9-inch graham cracker crust
• 1 tbsp unflavored gelatin, softened in 1/4 cup cold water
• 4 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped

Method

1. Whisk the egg yolks, half the sugar, and the milk together in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and stir in the softened gelatin and melted chocolate until smooth; cool to room temperature.
3. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks, gradually add the remaining sugar, and beat to stiff peaks; fold into the chocolate mixture along with the whipped cream.
4. Pour the filling into the crust and smooth the top.
5. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or until fully set, before slicing.

The Tale of Chocolate Chiffon Pie

Story updated September 15, 2026

Chocolate chiffon pie belongs to the family of light, whipped-egg-white pies invented in 1926 by Monroe Boston Strause, the Los Angeles wholesale baker known as the Pie King. Strause developed the original chiffon technique, folding stiffly beaten egg whites into a stovetop custard to create a filling far airier than the dense cream and custard pies then dominating American bakeries, and he set it in a graham cracker crust rather than pastry. Lemon was his first flavor, but the technique adapted readily to other bases, and chocolate chiffon spread quickly through home economics columns and church cookbooks over the following decades as cooks substituted melted chocolate or cocoa for the citrus. Strause himself went on to patent pie-making equipment as he industrialized his bakery operations, reflecting how quickly chiffon pie moved from a single inventor's idea to a mass-produced American staple. By midcentury, chocolate chiffon pie was a fixture of potlucks and diner dessert cases nationwide, prized for its rich flavor without a cream pie's heaviness.