Black Bottom Pie

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbl. cornstarch
• 2 cups milk, scalded
• 4 beaten egg yolks
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 6 oz. package (1 cup) chocolate chips
• 1 pie shell, baked and cooled
• 1 envelope (1 tbl.) unflavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup sugar
• bananas
• 1 square Baker's Chocolate (unsweetened)

Combine 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch. Slowly add scalded milk to beaten egg yolks. Stir in sugar mixture. Cook and stir in top of double boiler over hot, not boiling water until custard coats a spoon. Remove from heat; add vanilla. To 1 cup of the custard, add chocolate chips and stir until melted. Pour into bottom of baked pie shell. Chill.

Meanwhile, soften gelatin in cold water; add remaining hot custard. Stir until dissolved. Chill until slightly thick. Beat egg whites till soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar and continue beating till stiff peaks form. Fold in custard-gelatin mixture. Pour over chocolate in pie shell. Refrigerate to set the pie.

After the pie is set, add bias cut banana slices (dipped in lemon juice to keep from turning dark) to the top, along with curls shaved from the unsweetened chocoloate.