A classic chocolate pie made with a buttery, flaky crust, real chocolate pudding, and fresh whipped cream. This recipe is entirely homemade and takes only 30 minutes to prep before chilling. Be sure to check out the how-to video below before beginning!
1batchhomemade whipped creamfor topping. Optional but recommended. click the link for my recipe
Instructions
In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt.
1 ½ cups granulated sugar, 5 Tablespoons cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon salt
In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together egg yolks, milk, and heavy cream until well-combined and egg yolks are well broken up.
5 large egg yolks², 2 cups whole milk, 1 cup heavy cream
While whisking the dry ingredients, drizzle the egg yolk mixture into the dry ingredients until completely combined.
Transfer saucepan to stovetop over medium heat and whisk frequently until ingredients begin to thicken⁴ (see note 4, this will take several minutes, do not crank up the heat or your filling may not thicken properly).
Once mixture has thickened (it should have a pudding-like consistency) whisk constantly, remove from heat and immediately add chopped chocolate, butter, and vanilla extract. Stir until chocolate and butter are completely melted and mixture is smooth.
6 oz dark chocolate bar³, 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pour pie filling through a fine mesh strainer into a medium-sized heatproof bowl.
Pour filling over prepared pie crust and place a piece of clear wrap or parchment paper directly against the surface of the chocolate to prevent a skin from forming on the surface of the pie as it cools. Allow to chill in the refrigerator at least 6 hours or overnight before slicing and serving.
1 prepared (baked) 9" pie crust
Top with whipped cream just before serving. I like to use an Ateco 848 or Wilton 2D tip to decorate the pie slices in the photo, but a big mound of whipped cream right on top of the pie works just as well!
1 batch homemade whipped cream
Video
Notes
¹Pie crust
This recipe was written to be made with my prepared (blind-baked) homemade pie crust in a 9 or 9.5" pie plate. You may instead make this recipe using my graham cracker crust or Oreo crust or use a store-bought crust but keep in mind they are often smaller and may not fit all of the filling. You can pour the excess into mini tart shells or just enjoy as a pudding.
²Recommendations for leftover egg whites
If you don't want to waste your egg whites, store them in a clean, completely dry and grease-free container and use them to make meringue cookies, white cake, or coconut macaroons!
³Chocolate
A 60 or 70% cacao bar works great and is my preference, I often use Ghirardelli which is available right next to the cocoa powder in the baking section. While chocolate chips will work in a pinch, I really recommend using a quality chocolate bar that you enjoy the taste of. Semisweet chocolate will yield a pie that's sweeter and not as richly chocolate. I don't recommend using unsweetened chocolate, which could make the pie too bitter. This recipe has not been tested using cocoa powder instead of chocolate.
⁴Thickening the pie filling
It's important that you have patience for this step, slowly thickening over medium heat is key to allow the sugars to melt properly and the filling to thicken properly. The filling should be clearly thickened before moving on to the next step and should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon or spatula. I demonstrate this above in the post and in my video.