Chocolate Cream Pie for Dad

My father is one of those people for whom dessert is not really dessert unless it’s chocolate. I remember growing up, he used to keep a stash of Hershey kisses in the back of the freezer (he swore they weren’t off limits yet my sister and I could never reach them). Every night after dinner, he would line a bunch of them up on the arm of the sofa and relish them slowly, one by one, while he watched TV. We all have our quirky food habits, right?

My dad at my sister’s wedding last year

This year for Father’s Day, my sister and I are treating him to something a little fancier than chocolate kisses — a decadent Chocolate Cream Pie. With a chocolate cookie crust, silky chocolate pudding center and pillowy whipped cream topping, it’s a chocolate lover’s dream. I’ll be honest, it’s a bit of a project — most pies are — but I promise it’s worth it.

The first step is to make the filling because it needs time to cool before you assemble the pie. Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan and whisk gently until combined. Next, combine the milk and egg yolks. Slowly add the milk mixture to the saucepan, whisking until mixture is smooth.

Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and thickens.

Off the heat, immediately whisk in the chopped chocolate, butter and vanilla extract.

The residual heat in the pan will melt the chocolate and butter.

Transfer the filling to a bowl and cool in the refrigerator.

Next, make the crust by combining the chocolate wafers, sugar and butter in bowl of food processor fitted with blade attachment. Pulse until the cookies are finely crushed.

Press the mixture into 9-inch pie pan, then bake for 10 minutes until crisp.

Spoon the filling into crust and spread evenly. Cover and chill for at least 6 hours or up to one day.

Finally, make the whipped cream topping and spread over pie.

Decorate with grated chocolate and serve.

Enjoy and Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there!

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Chocolate Cream Pie
Inspired by Gourmet
Printable Recipe

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

For Crust
28 Nabisco FAMOUS Chocolate Wafers (or 1-1/2 cups finely crushed crumbs)*
1/3 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

For Filling
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks
3 cups whole milk
5 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate, best quality such as Ghirardelli
2 ounces chopped unsweetened chocolate, best quality such as Ghirardelli
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Topping
3/4 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, grated or shaved

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Make filling: Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a heavy medium saucepan. Whisk gently until combined. In a bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together milk and egg yolks. Add milk mixture to saucepan in a slow and steady stream, whisking until mixture is smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture starts to bubble and thicken, about 6-8 minutes. Immediately turn heat down to a simmer and cook, whisking constantly, for one minute more until thick. (The constant stirring and low heat prevents the eggs from scrambling. Be sure to stand attentively at stove and keep scraping whisk against the bottom and edges of pan where mixture is more likely to overheat.) Off the heat, immediately whisk in chopped chocolate, butter and vanilla extract.** Transfer filling to a bowl. Press a piece of saran wrap directly over surface of filling to prevent film from forming and refrigerate until cool, 1-2 hours.

3. Make crust: Combine chocolate wafers, sugar and butter in bowl of food processor fitted with blade attachment and pulse until cookies are finely crushed. Press mixture firmly into 9-inch pie pan (spread it with your hands first, then use the back of a spoon or bottom of a measuring cup to press and even it out). Bake for 10 minutes until crisp. Set on rack to cool completely.

4. Once filling and crust are cooled, spoon filling into crust and spread evenly. Cover with saran wrap, pressing directly against surface of filling, and chill for at least 6 hours or up to one day.

5. Up to 3 hours before serving, make topping: Place heavy cream in chilled mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, whip on medium-low speed until whisk or beaters begin to leave tracks in the cream. Add sugar and whip until the cream holds medium, silky peaks. Go slowly towards the end; if it gets grainy or curdled, you’ve gone too far. Spread whipped cream over pie, leaving some of the chocolate filling showing around the edges. Sprinkle with grated chocolate and refrigerate until ready to serve.

*Nabisco cookies available in the cookie aisle at most major supermarkets. Sometimes they can be hard to spot. At my local Giant, they’re on the top shelf near the Oreos.

**In a professional kitchen, you would push the filling through a fine mesh sieve to remove any tiny bits of scrambled eggs. As long as they’re minimal, this is not necessary at home.