Chocolate Espresso Pie
These crispy Vietnamese chicken wings are double-fried for maximum crunch, then tossed through a sticky, garlicky caramel sauce built on fish sauce, brown sugar, and fresh lime. It’s the kind of wing you genuinely can’t stop eating.
The wings marinate for at least an hour, but most of that time is hands-off. Once they come out of the fridge, you’re looking at about 30 minutes of actual cooking to get them crispy, sauced, and on the table.
Finished with fresh coriander, mint, chilli, and a squeeze of lime, these hit sweet, salty, and sour in every bite. Great as a starter, a game day snack, or piled up next to steamed rice as a main.
Chocolate Espresso Pie
CHOCOLATE · DESSERT · MEDIUM
Coffee and Chocolate, Done Properly
This isn't a subtle hint of coffee flavour — infusing whole ground beans straight into the cream gives the ganache a genuine espresso depth that holds up against the chocolate.
It's a genuine make-ahead dessert. The base, filling and meringue can all be built across a couple of hours or the day before, so there's no last-minute scramble if you're serving people.
The swirled, torched meringue on top makes it look properly impressive with barely any extra effort — a bit of piping or spatula work is all it takes.
Chocolate Espresso Pie
Ingredients
Base
- 275 g Digestive Biscuits
- 100 g Unsalted Butter Melted
- 2.5 g Sea Salt Flakes
Chocolate Espresso Filling
- 350 g Dark Chocolate Chips
- 35 g Unsalted Butter Cubed
- 330 ml Thickened Cream
- 20 g Freshly Ground Coffee Beans
- 30 ml Water
Meringue
- 4 Egg Whites Room Temperature
- 160 g Caster Sugar Fine
Method
- Place the base ingredients into a food processor and blend into a fine, wet sand-like consistency.
- Grease a 24cm pie dish with softened butter and pour in the base mix. Firmly press the base mix into the pie dish and spread up the sides. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.
- Place the dark chocolate and butter into a mixing bowl. Place the coffee and water in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the thickened cream and stir over medium-low heat for 3 minutes or until the cream is hot but not boiling. Remove from the heat and let infuse for 5 minutes.
- Pour the cream and coffee mixture through a fine sieve into the chocolate and butter, discarding the ground coffee. Mix the coffee cream mixture into the chocolate and butter just until the chocolate has melted and is smooth.
- Pour into the chilled base and place back into the fridge for 1 to 1½ hours or until fully set.
- Place the egg whites into a stand mixer and beat using the whisk attachment until they start to froth. Add the sugar and continue to beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy.
- Spoon the meringue over the set chocolate and swirl with a spatula to form cracks and a decorative pattern.
- Use a kitchen blow torch to toast the meringue until golden brown all over (this step is optional but recommended). Slice and serve. Dig in.
