Chocolate mousse Pie submitted by Mom Johnson
Description
An old recipe from the Los Angeles Times California Cookbook. I love this recipe for the holidays...a bit fussy but sooo good, a show-off dessert. (You may want to use a pasteurized egg product in place of the fresh eggs).

Directions
Combine egg yolks, 1 1/2 cups sugar, vanilla, salt, and brandy in the top of a double boiler. Place over simmering water and beat until pale yellow and thick, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from water and set aside. Melt both types of chocolate in the top of the double boiler over hot water. When melted, remove from water and beat in the butter, a bit at a time. Gradually beat the chocolate into the egg yolk mixture until smooth. Chocolate mixture will congeal and become very stiff. Beat in the coffee. Beat the egg whites at room temperature into soft peaks. Gradually beat in 3 T. sugar until stiff peaks form. Beat 1 cup of the beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture to thin it, then carefully fold in the remaining beaten egg whites until thoroughly incorporated. Whip the cream until stiff and gently fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the prepared crust and chill overnight in the refrigerator. Garnish with the cherry cordials. Makes 8-10 large servings.

Crust:
Grind the wafers in a blender or food processor until crumbs are very fine. combine the butter with the crumbs and pat onto the sides and bottom of a buttered 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Cherry Cordials:
Soak the cherries in brandy and place in the freezer. melt the chocolate over hot water. When the cherries are frozen, dry on a paper towel and quickly dip, one at a time into the chocolate, swirling around by the stem until completely covered. The chocolate will harden almost immediately. Place on a wax-paper-lined rack in the refrigerator until ready to use.




Ingredients
v Mousse:
v 8 eggs, separated
v 1 1/2 cup sugar
v 2 tsp. vanilla
v 1/4 tsp. salt
v 1/2 cup brandy
v 10 oz. unsweetened chocolate
v 2 oz. semisweet chocolate
v 3/4 cup butter, softened
v 1/2 cup coffee
v 1 1/2 cups whipping cream

v Chocolate Crust:
v 2/3 (8 1/2 oz. pkg.) dark chocolate wafers
v 1 T. butter, melted

v Cherry Cordials:
v 13 maraschino cherries with stems, drained
v 1/2 cup brandy
v 5 oz. semisweet chocolate