S’mores pie

SERVES 8-12

“This is s’mores at its finest, but better, with ras el hanout,” says Thalia Ho. “The flavour reminds me of long, fevered nights around the fire,”

PIE CRUST

130 gm (1 cup) Shredded Wheatmeal

biscuit crumbs

2 tbsp white sugar

70 gm unsalted butter

PIE FILLING

255 gm (1½ cups) finely chopped

dark chocolate

280 ml heavy cream

80 ml (1/3 cup) milk

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

MERINGUE

2 large eggwhites

150 gm (¾ cup) white sugar

ROSE RAS EL HANOUT

2 tbsp dried rose petals

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp ground ginger

3 tsp ground paprika

2 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp each cayenne pepper,

fennel seeds and ground nutmeg ½ tsp each cracked black pepper and ground coriander

¼ tsp each ground turmeric, ground cloves and ground cumin

Pinch of saffron threads

1 To make rose ras el hanout, combine ingredients in a jar. Seal, then let it sit overnight, so that the aromatics have time to get to know each other

2 Preheat oven to 180°C. Place a 23cm pie dish on a baking tray.

3 To make pie crust, combine biscuit crumbs, sugar and 1/4 tsp salt in a bowl.

4 Place butter in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until melted. Increase heat to medium-high and continue to cook, swirling pan often, until a deep amber-hued liquid has formed. Add crumbs, stir to combine, then transfer to pie dish. Use the back of a spoon to press biscuit mixture into the base and up the side. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside to cool. Lower oven temperature to 160ºC.

5 To make filling, place chocolate in a large bowl and set aside. Warm cream and milk in a saucepan, then pour over chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then whisk until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking well to incorporate each addition, then mix in vanilla. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into pie crust. 6 Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating halfway through, until just set. It should be puffed and have a slight wiggle.

Cool to room temperature.

7 To make meringue, combine eggwhites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Set bowl over a saucepan filled with a few centimetres of barely simmering water. Heat, whisking often, until mixture reaches 71ºC on a sugar thermometer. Set bowl on stand mixer and whisk on high speed until thick and glossy (5 minutes), then whisk in a generous pinch of rose ras el hanout.

8 Spread meringue over top of pie, then singe with a blow torch. This pie is best eaten on the day of making but can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.