I spent all of Friday making Chocolate Cream Pies, trying to figure out the combination of flavor and texture that would bring me to Creamy-Chocolate-Level-Transcendent. I made so many pies: some too grainy, some too thick, some too fussy to be labeled “easy.” I finally nailed it. Then my mother-in-law Kris arrived from out of town, and all my conclusions were shot to hell. She took one bite at dinner and said, “This pie isn’t sweet enough!” Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram The rest of the table, including Eric, who saw me work so hard testing a million pies, protested. “I think the pie tastes great, Karen!” I know that Kris doesn’t like sugary-sweet desserts, so if she thinks my pie needs more umph, I’m interested. I defend her: “Kris is not an overly-sweet person, so if she thinks it needs more sugar, that’s saying something!” My father-in-law erupts in laughter. “Kris is not an overly-sweet person? You can say that again!” You guys! Is my subconscious sending over backhanded compliments because someone thought my pie needed work? What is it with me?? Kris ate some more pie later and tried to back track. “I think I actually do like the pie, just the way it is!” Sure Kris. Sure. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. Welp, humble pie going around in every direction over here! It was worth it. Now you know just how much we all owe to Kris and her sharp tongue! 😉 Even if there is a selection of pies at your event, this one will probably get eaten first. It’s the American way. We’re obsessed with chocolate. I read a quote from a chef once, who was talking about choosing what to include on a dessert menu: “You always have to provide a chocolate option. People will riot if you don’t.”
It’s not made from instant pudding (I have nothing against instant pudding. it’s just not THE BEST.) We are using 3 kinds of chocolate for max chocolate flavor. I almost called it a “Triple Chocolate Cream Pie.” Cocoa and semi-sweet chocolate incorporated in the pudding, plus straight chocolate curls on top. (And it’s quadruple-chocolate if you use an Oreo crust!) Speaking of chocolate curls. I almost thought about making them optional until I ate the pie without them. They are NOT OPTIONAL! They add the perfect touch! See recipe notes for an easy hack using a chocolate bar, no melting and scraping required. This recipe calls for high quality chocolate. If you cheap out on the chocolate, you will get a cheap-tasting pie, simple as that. You can use chocolate chips for the curls, but use a high quality chopped chocolate bar for the pudding itself. If you are not feeling a little grouchy about the price, you are buying the wrong chocolate. There are lots of egg yolks. Egg yolks are the secret to the BEST, richest texture and flavor. No box of pudding can compete. 🎶 Ain’t nothin like the real thing bay-bay… 🎶 My big secret: use a hand mixer to beat the pudding together: before, during, and after it’s heated on the stove. This makes the pudding ULTRA creamy and whips a bunch of air in, making your chocolate layer light and fluffy (so that it absolutely melts in your mouth.) It’s a game changer my friends! It’s easy. Set yourself up for about 10 minutes of stirring by the stove, and the tough part is over. Let’s dive in to all the details!
Oreo cookies or Graham cracker crust Kosher salt Butter Eggs Sugar Whole milk Cocoa powder Cornstarch Heavy cream (not coffee creamer!) Semi sweet chocolate Vanilla Powdered sugar
Oreo cookie crust Graham Cracker crumb crust Classic pastry pie crust
I took a poll on Instagram the day I made this pie, and Oreo crust beat out Graham cracker crust by a thin margin. It’s just hard to deny chocolate in crunchy buttery cookie form, right? Graham cracker crust is a close second for me, too. I love them both, but the choice is yours.
I didn’t even include regular pastry pie crust in the poll, because in my opinion, it shouldn’t even be on the list. Chocolate pie is SO much better in a crumb crust. I said what I said people. I know that tradition says chocolate pie goes in a regular pie crust, but I’m convinced that tradition was started when Oreos weren’t invented yet.
I like to use a measuring cup and my fingers to press the mixture into the pan. Make sure you bake your crumb crust for about 10 minutes to make sure it gets nice and crispy. No soggy crust, please. We need a foil for our creamy pie.
We’ve got our crust, now it’s puddin’ time. The pudding portion of the pie is EASY.
Okay, not as easy as instant pudding. But stay with me here! I’ll walk you through it.
Here are my dozens of egg whites from my million tests on this recipe. Someday I will come up with an egg white omelette recipe for you all. For now, put them in your fridge and pretend like you will use them later. Ha! Just kidding. I usually add a few whites at a time to my kids scrambled eggs.
3. Add in some sugar and bust out your hand mixer. Beat until the mixture has lightened in color, see below. Using an electric mixture is my secret for this recipe. Can you get the job done with a whisk and some elbow grease? Absolutely! Your final just won’t be as light and fluffy.
4. (See how light the eggs are now?) Add in some cold milk and continue beating. It will get nice and frothy!
5. Add in the dry ingredients: cornstarch, high quality unsweetened cocoa powder, and salt. Beat it together and try not to choke on the cocoa dust cloud that’s about to poof in your face. Scrape down the edges!
8. Then we are adding hot milk/cream to the egg mixture with the beater on low. Pretend the beater is running in this photo. I had to hold the camera and I don’t have 3 hands. Get someone else to take the photos of you making this pie. (I’m just kidding. Don’t do that. Just make your pie like a normal person.) Can you see the film on the top of the hot milk? Usually it ends up just sticking to the dish you’re pouring from. No need to scrape it in. We want smooooth pudding. If it ends up in the pot, don’t sweat it.
12. When you can drag your whisk across the top of the pudding and it leaves marks, you’re done. Remove from the heat immediately, don’t stop whisking whenever you can, as you bustle around adding the next ingredients.
13. Immediately add 8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, a bit of unsalted butter, and some vanilla. Don’t use chocolate chips if you can help it! Buy a nice bar of semi sweet chocolate, I prefer Ghirardelli. It’s higher quality and will melt more smoothly.
14. One last step! Bust out that mixer one more time! I know it might seem strange to beat the pudding at this point (it certainly already looks perfect) but I beg of you, don’t skip this step. It whips a bunch of air into your pudding, making it light and fluffy. You can’t get this texture any other way! (Okay that’s not true, one recipe I found called for transferring the whole mixture to a food processor and pulsing it, but who wants to do that? It was a huge pain, and beating with a mixer achieves the same effect.)
15. Immediately pour the hot pudding into your prepared pie crust. Don’t wait around. If pudding sits still for any amount of time, it forms a skin on top, and then when you mix it in, that skin makes your pudding less creamy. Not the end of the world, but we want to avoid it if we can. Move quickly.
You might think there is too much pudding and it won’t fit in the pie pan. Just keep adding it a little at a time, you will be surprised. If you absolutely cannot fit more, scrape the rest into a small bowl for yourself and don’t tell anyone else about it. That’s an order. You made this pie, Little Red Hen, it’s yours.
16. Cover the pie with plastic as soon as you can, pressing it right onto the pudding. This is to avoid that skin or film that forms on top. Then toss it in the fridge for 4 hours at the very least, 8 hours or overnight is even better! It’s the perfect make-ahead pie.
Melt the chocolate in increments in the microwave, stirring in between. When it is smooth, use an offset spatula to spread it onto a baking sheet.
Freeze for just a couple minutes, it hardens very fast. Take it out and let it rest a few minutes. If you try to scrape the chocolate now, it will come off in shards. Stick around and try again in one minute.
Keep trying until you get curls when you scrape with an upside down spatula. You can use the full length of the spatula to get tightly rolled curls, or use just the edge to get these spiral curls.
If the chocolate gets limp and slumps instead of curls when you push with the spatular, it’s too warm. Stick it back in the fridge or freezer for a minute.
Keep the curls chilled until you’re ready to serve your pie.
If you have the space, take a few minutes to chill your beater and bowl. It makes the whipped cream even more light and fluffy.
Heavy cream is the same as whipping cream and ultra heavy whipping cream. They just have different fat contents. Find the highest fat content available (Costco sells Darigold cream which is 40%, the highest I’ve seen. Anything above 35% is fine. Some brands don’t even have this info available on the packaging, but if you buy anything called cream or heavy cream, you will be fine. (Don’t buy coffee creamer!)
Then pile it on! There’s never too much whipped cream, right?
Sprinkle it with your chocolate curls and voila!
Don’t skip the chocolate curls! They’re absolutely incredible. You can make them with a vegetable peeler or by melting chocolate, spreading it out, chilling it, and then creating the curls. It’s totally an appearance thing, they taste the same. Use an electric mixer to whip your eggs. Sure, you can use a whisk, but expect sore muscles the next day! I love my electric mixer, and it makes this job a lot easier. Whisk your pudding constantly. Just plan to be at the stove for 10 minutes during this stage. If you walk away you can scorch the pudding on the bottom. And that’s just sad. Use a flat whisk. If you don’t own one you don’t NEED one, but it’s totally worth it! It makes it super easy to get into the corners of your pot when you’re cooking the custard.
Try to top your pie with whipped cream at the very last moment before serving, but if you must do it ahead of time, covering it can be an issue. If you have leftovers, cover with plastic wrap and kiss your pretty presentation goodbye. If you are bringing the whole pie to a party, try sticking toothpicks into the top of the whipped cream, then gently covering the whole pie with plastic wrap. Then remove the toothpicks when serving. My grandma taught me this old trick! Chocolate Cream Pie should last about 3-4 days in the fridge, but the longer you leave it, the soggier the crust will get. And that’s a wrap my friends! I’m honestly in love with this pie you guys. Chocolate cream pie is a classic that you must have in your repertoire, and I’m so pleased that I finally have my “One.” I hope it becomes a new family favorite for you too! Happy Thanksgiving y’all!
The Best Homemade Apple Pie « easily my best, most popular pie recipe My Favorite Homemade Banana Cream Pie « The other cream pie of your dreams. The Only Blueberry Pie that I Truly Love « I used to hate Blueberry Pie until this recipe… it’s a keeper Creme Brulee Pumpkin Pie « like normal Pumpkin Pie but 1000x better because of the crackly brulee top Pecan Pie Recipe with Buttery Streusel Topping « you will win many friends with this one No Bake Cherry Cream Cheese Pie « made in a snap, and SO good THE Chocolate Chip Pie Recipe « super easy and tastes like a warm deep dish cookie Peach Apricot Slab Pie « a perfect summer or anytime fruit pie The Best Zesty Key Lime Pie Recipe « nice and tart, just the way it should be No Bake Peanut Butter Pie with Hot Fudge « smooth and creamy deliciousness Cranberry Cherry Pie with Almond Glaze « like classic cherry, but with a nice tart pop from the cranberries Marionberry Pie from Life’s Ambrosia Black Folks Sweet Potato Pie Recipe from The Soul Food Pot Buttermilk Pie from Well Plated
