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Chocolate Cream Pie
With a cookie crust, silky chocolate pudding center and pillowy whipped cream topping, this pie is a chocolate lover’s dream.
My father is one of those people for whom dessert is not really dessert unless it’s chocolate. Growing up, he used to keep a stash of Hershey’s kisses in the back corner of the freezer, where my sister and I couldn’t reach them. Every night after dinner, he would line exactly six of them up on the arm of the sofa and relish them one by one while he watched TV. We all have our funny food quirks, right?
This chocolate cream pie is my dad’s favorite dessert, and every year before Father’s Day, he starts dropping not-so-subtle hints that I should make it. With a chocolate cookie crust, silky chocolate pudding center, and pillowy whipped cream topping, it’s a chocolate lover’s dream.
Be sure to plan ahead because the filling needs at least eight hours to set up before serving.
What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Cream Pie
How To Make Chocolate Cream Pie
Begin by making the crust. Combine the chocolate wafers, sugar and butter in bowl of food processor fitted with the blade attachment.
Pulse until the cookies are finely crushed.
Pour the crumbs into a pie pan.
Press the mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie pan (spread some of the crumbs up the sides first, making the crust just shy of 1/4-inch thick, then press the remaining crumbs onto the bottom; use a the bottom of a measuring cup or glass to even out, if you like). Bake for 10 minutes until crisp.
Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a heavy medium saucepan. Whisk gently until combined.
In a bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the milk and egg yolks. Add the mixture to the saucepan in a slow and steady stream, whisking until the mixture is smooth.
Cook over medium-high heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken, 6-8 minutes. Immediately turn the heat down to a simmer and cook — whisking constantly, especially around the edges — for one more minute until thick. (The constant stirring and low heat prevents the eggs from scrambling. Be sure to scrape the whisk against the bottom and edges of the pan where the mixture is more likely to overheat.)
Turn off the heat, then immediately add the chopped chocolate, butter and vanilla extract.
Whisk until smooth.
Pour the filling into the crust and smooth the top. Press a piece of saran wrap directly over surface of the filling to prevent a film from forming; chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Up to three hours before serving, place the heavy cream in chilled mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, whip on medium-low speed until the whisk or beaters begin to leave tracks in the cream. Add the 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.
Spoon the whipped cream over the filling.
Spread the whipped cream, leaving some of the chocolate filling showing around the edges. Sprinkle with the grated chocolate and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Photo by Our Salty Kitchen
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Chocolate Cream Pie
With a cookie crust, silky chocolate pudding center and pillowy whipped cream topping, this pie is a chocolate lover’s dream.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 28 Nabisco Chocolate Wafers (or 1-1/2 cups finely crushed crumbs)*
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
For the Filling
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3 cups whole milk
- 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, best quality such as Ghirardelli
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, best quality such as Ghirardelli
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Topping
- 1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, grated or shaved
Instructions
For the Crust
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Combine the chocolate wafers, sugar and butter in bowl of food processor fitted with the blade attachment and pulse until the cookies are finely crushed. Press the mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie pan (spread some of the crumbs up the sides first, making the crust just shy of 1/4-inch thick, then press the remaining crumbs onto the bottom; use a the bottom of a measuring cup or glass to even out, if you like). Bake for 10 minutes until crisp.
For the Filling
- Combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a heavy medium saucepan. Whisk gently until combined.
- In a bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the milk and egg yolks. Add the milk mixture to the saucepan in a slow and steady stream, whisking until the mixture is smooth. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken, 6-8 minutes. Immediately turn the heat down to a simmer and cook -- whisking constantly, especially around the edges -- for one more minute until thick. (The constant stirring and low heat prevents the eggs from scrambling. Be sure to scrape the whisk against the bottom and edges of the pan where the mixture is more likely to overheat.) Off the heat, immediately add the chopped chocolate, butter and vanilla extract; whisk until evenly combined.
- Pour the filling into the crust and smooth the top. Press a piece of saran wrap directly over surface of the filling to prevent a film from forming; chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight.
For the Topping
- (Up to 3 hours before serving) Place the heavy cream in chilled mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, whip on medium-low speed until the 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 the whipped cream over the filling, leaving some of the chocolate filling showing around the edges. Sprinkle with the 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.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 servings)
- Calories: 663
- Fat: 43 g
- Saturated fat: 24 g
- Carbohydrates: 67 g
- Sugar: 49 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Sodium: 367 mg
- Cholesterol: 172 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Reviews & Comments
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Followed recipe exactly and read reviews prior to making. Thought 1/2 tsp salt used in filling gave finished pie an overly salty taste. I used regular iodized table salt. Would omit or use 1/8 tsp next time.
This was a fantastic recipe to make, my question is does it need to chill for 8 hours? Will it (be soupy, if you will) if you cut the pie earlier?
Hi Jen, It does need 8 hours to set up; it will be difficult to slice if you rush it. Sorry!!
Hi Jenn – I made this at thanksgiving and it was a HIT! However, I made it today with 1% milk and it’s a disaster. It looks like hot chocolate. I still poured it in the cookie shell & am hoping it thickens. I checked all the other ingredients and I included all of them. Any idea if this will thicken by tonight? I doubt you can respond since it’s Christmas Eve but – thought I’d try! Love ❤️ all your recipes!
Hi Karen, The filling should firm up somewhat in the fridge but, unfortunately, low fat milk may cause it to be a bit runny. If it’s too difficult to slice, you could scoop it into pretty glasses and call it something else…it should still taste delicious!
Thanks! Great idea!!
Can you use almond milk instead of milk?
Hi Cathy, I haven’t tried this with almond milk. There’s a lot of milk in the recipe, so I’d be a little concerned about the results. Sorry!
How far in advance can I prepare this prior to serving? Can I refrigerate it (without the whip cream topping) for 2 days?
Sure, Andi, it keeps nicely, so 2 days ahead will work. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn, what percent chocolate do you recommend for the bittersweet chocolate? 60%? 70%? And what is your favorite brand to use?
Hi Lynn, I use 60% for the bittersweet and my favorite brand is Ghiradelli. Hope you enjoy!
Absolutely delicious and so easy. What I love about Jenn’s recipes is that I’m not nervous trying them for the first time if having someone over. It gets expensive testing recipes all the time! I trust her instincts and her recipes never disappoint.
Really want to make this pie. But don’t use cornstarch. Can I substitute tapioca for it.
Hi Carol, I’ve never used tapioca, but from what I read online, it looks like it’s doable but the quantity is a little different. You can read more here. Please keep in mind that I haven’t tried it myself. Hope that helps!
Arrowroot is generally a good substitute for cornstarch.
This pie was yummy. My only complaint is that the chocolate crust came out a bit too thick but still tasted good.
I cooked the milk and egg mixture about 10 minutes because it was not at all thickening, but then I got nervous and decided to stop and add the chocolate. I realized it was still too runny and cooked it a few minutes more. I hope I didn’t ruin the pie. It’s in the fridge chilling. Will it still be edible? I don’t want to make my family sick. I’ve had a lot of success with your recipes!
Hi Anna, sorry you struggled with this a bit. While the mixture won’t get really thick on the stove, it should thicken up just a bit (enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon if you stick it in there). It does most of the thickening in the fridge. If it didn’t thicken in the fridge, is there a chance you forgot to add the cornstarch? (Regardless, it should not make your family sick.)
The filling did thicken in the fridge. Even though my technique was off, the pie turned out good. I’m not a huge fan of chocolate pie but my daughter says she loves it. We will make again. Thank you!
Glad it turned out well!
I normally never make desserts but I decided to try this as I have a lot of leftover chocolate. I modified it slightly in that I added bananas to the bottom of the pie shell before adding the chocolate over it. It was delicious, the chocolate was light not at all sweet and the addition of whipped cream just before serving added the right touch.