A classic creamy chocolate pie, made completely from scratch! This recipe is a deliciously simple staple for every home baker, served over a simple homemade pie crust and topped with from-scratch whipped cream!
Fall is baking season, it’s pie and pumpkin season, made for apples and salted caramel and kitchens warmed by 350 degree ovens — all things cozy and delicious. Since tomorrow is the first official day of Fall (!!!) I thought a pie recipe would be appropriate.
I teased you on Monday that I wouldn’t offer you my easy pie crust recipe without giving you something to fill it with, so I hope you saved that recipe because you’re going to need it today! One pre-baked pie crust is the first ingredient for today’s homemade chocolate pie (see why I went into all the details about blind baking?!).
Remember how I mentioned that my pie crust recipe is extremely easy to make? Well that’s the hardest part of this whole chocolate pie because the filling is a simple chocolate pudding that is a breeze to make.
Making pudding that didn’t come out of a tiny powder filled Jell-o box was always intimidating to me, but now that I’ve been making it for so long I don’t know what it was that was so scary about it. Pudding, or in this case, chocolate pie filling, only requires a few ingredients to make.
We start with sugar, egg yolks (you can save the whites for an Angel Food cake or Funfetti cake!), cornstarch (to help firm up the chocolate pie and make it sliceable rather than soupy!), salt, milk, and heavy cream. I’ve made chocolate pies before using solely milk and no cream, but I like the richness of the cream and decided it worked best with this recipe, so I definitely recommend it.
Once these ingredients have cooked and come to a boil (make sure you’re whisking almost constantly!), then you’ll add your chocolate, your butter, your vanilla extract. The heat of your pudding mixture will melt your chocolate and butter and it will all come together as a silky chocolate filling right beneath your whisk.
I recommend running your pie filling through a fine mesh sieve before pouring it into your pie crust, this will eliminate any clumps that may have formed while your pie is cooking. I just place my sieve over a glass bowl, then pour the chocolate pie filling from the saucepan into the bowl through the sieve, using a spoon or spatula to gently help work the filling through.
You want your pie crust to be cooled and you want to let the chocolate filling cool a bit before you pour it into the pie crust. I recommend letting it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before adding it to your pie shell — just be sure to stir it every so often to prevent a layer or skin from forming on the surface (if you do notice a skin starting to form, just whisk it very well and it will dissolve).
For this very same reason, after you’ve poured your chocolate layer you’ll want to cover it with cling wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap is pressed flush against the surface of the pie — this will keep a thick, unappetizing skin from forming over the surface.
Then there’s the whipped cream…
As I’ve mentioned before, I nearly always whip my own because it’s simple and because ever since the first time I let my family members taste homemade whipped cream they demand it over any sort of store bought variety (I’m looking at you, Cool Whip).
3 ingredients, 5 minutes, and just one dirty bowl, it’s definitely worth it.
I like to pipe the whipped cream around the outside of the pie near the crust (and sometime I lose all control and end up decorating the whole pie, did you see my Instagram story? 😳), but if you’re feeling impatient you can just slap it on top with a spoon.
I’m always trying to stay ahead on my recipes and I want to share a few more pies with you between now and Thanksgiving. Any requests for recipes that you’d like to see here?
Oh, and I hope you’ll tune in to my Facebook page at 12:00 EST today and say hi! I’ll be making my Dirty Brownies, live!
Chocolate Pie
Ingredients
- 1 prepared (baked) 9" pie crust click link for my homemade recipe
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300g)
- ¼ cup + 1 Tbsp cornstarch (40g)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 5 large egg yolks
- 2 ⅔ cup whole milk (630ml)
- ½ cup heavy cream (118ml)
- 6 oz dark chocolate bar¹ finely chopped (170g)
- 4 Tablespoons butter cut into pieces (56.5)
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Homemade Whipped Cream
- ¾ cup heavy cream (175ml)
- ¼ cup powdered sugar (30g)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt.
- Add egg yolks, milk, and heavy cream and transfer to stovetop over medium heat and whisk ingredients together.
- Whisk ingredients frequently until ingredients begin to thicken (this will take several minutes, do not crank up the heat or your filling may not thicken properly).
- Once mixture has thickened² (it should be like a pudding consistency) whisk constantly, the mixture will come to a boil and continue to whisk for 60 seconds before removing from heat (still whisking constantly).
- Immediately add chocolate, butter, and vanilla extract.
- Whisk until ingredients are smooth and chocolate and butter are completely melted.
- Pour your pie filling through a fine mesh sieve into a medium-sized heatproof bowl. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent skin from forming.
- Pour filling over prepared pie crust and cover surface with clear wrap, making sure that the clear wrap is pressed against the surface of the chocolate to prevent a skin from forming.
- Refrigerate at least 6 hours to allow chocolate pie to firm up and set.
Homemade Whipped Cream
- Prepare Whipped Cream shortly before serving pie.
- Combine ¾ cup heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract in a clean medium-sized bowl.
- Use an electric mixer to stir on low-speed. Gradually increase speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Pipe (I used a Wilton 2D tip) or dollop whipped cream topping over pie just before serving.
Notes
Ideas for Your Leftover Egg Whites
You can use them to make meringue cookies, white cake, or coconut macaroons.Nutrition
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Marcy
Made this recipe on Thursday, finally got to serve it on Saturday—huge success!!!! Pie tasted delicious and held up really well. I made a graham cracker crust instead and used 1 cup of heavy cream instead of 3/4 cup for the whipped cream and spread it over the whole pie. My family loved it—my dad said it’s the best chocolate pudding pie he ever tasted and my mom loved it as well (and she has very high standards for chocolate pudding pie). Recipe was easy to follow and directions were clear. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes and for always getting back so quickly with answers to questions. I know I will definitely be making this recipe again.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Marcy! 🙂
Marcy
Hey Sam, have a few more questions regarding storing this pie. After the 6 hours, does the pie still need to have the plastic wrap or can it be stored in the refrigerator without it? And how do I store chocolate pudding pie once the whipped cream is on it (does it still need to be covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil)?
Sam
Hi Marcy! I typically store mine in the refrigerator without the plastic wrap after those 6 hours have passed. I do the same once adding the whipped cream, but of course I hope everyone enjoys it so much you don’t have to store it long. 🙂