Nana's Black Bottom Pie

This is my mother-in-law's recipe. I had made this pie several times, but it never tasted as good as when she made it. When I admitted as much to her one day, she took pity on me and told me her secret. She tripled the amount of rum extract the original recipe called for. No wonder her black bottom pie always tasted better than mine!!! Here is her "revised" recipe with the new and improved amount of rum. Enjoy!

• Ready In: 3 hrs 30 mins
• Yields: 1 9 inch pie

Ingredients

• 1  cup sugar, separated into two 1/2 cup portions
• 2  cups milk, scalded
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1  tablespoon cornstarch
• 4  egg yolks, beaten
• 6  ounces  semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1  tablespoon unflavored gelatin (or one envelope unflavored gelatin)
• 1⁄4 cup cold water
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons  rum extract
• 4  egg whites
• 1  baked  9-inch pie shell

Directions

1. Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar and cornstarch, set aside.
2. In a saucepan, add the milk to the egg yolks, then add the sugar/cornstarch mixture. Stir until combined.
3. Cook and stir over medium heat, until the custard coats a spoon.
4. Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla.
5. In a separate bowl, add the chocolate to 1 cup of the hot custard and stir until melted and combined. Pour the chocolate custard into the pie shell and chill.
6. While the chocolate custard is chilling, soften the gelatin in the cold water, then add it to the remaining hot custard. Stir until the gelatin is dissolved.
7. Stir in the rum extract.
8. Chill the rum custard until slightly thickened.
9. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
10. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, beat until stiff peaks form.
11. Fold the rum custard into the egg whites. Chill slightly, if necessary, until the mixture mounds.
12. Pile the rum custard mixture over the chocolate layer. Chill until set.