The best Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe. This Chocolate pie has a homemade chocolate pudding pie filling, a buttery flaky homemade pie crust, and is topped with peanut butter whipped cream. This easy chocolate pie is a great make ahead dessert.
Hi! Just popping in to share this chocolate cream pie recipe! I love making homemade pies, and this easy chocolate pie is a favourite of mine. We start with my homemade pie crust, then add a smooth chocolate pudding, then you can finish it either with mounds of whipped cream topping, or take it one step further and add a peanut butter whipped cream. Chocolate Cream Pie is a great addition to a dessert table, and is super easy to make ahead of time! You really can't go wrong with a pie with chocolate.
This is my first ever chocolate pie I've ever made! They aren't really a thing in New Zealand. And what better recipe to use than one from my lovely friend Erin's new book, 'The Fearless Baker',.
Despite only having met Erin IRL a handful of times, (2021 note: turns out we became besties, and I miss her millions!) I am super lucky to be able to call her a friend, and am so proud of this amazing book! It's full of all kinds of incredible gems to help you overcome any fear you may have in the kitchen. There's foolproof tips, and recipes for almost every baked good you can imagine. I definitely see a chocolate puff pastry dough happening very soon in my life. Congrats Erin, the book is AMAZING! If you don't have a copy already, you can get your hands on a copy here!
How to Blind Bake a Pie Crust
The process for blind baking a pie crust is pretty simple. It takes a little practice to get the crimp on the crust right, but par baking is a great skill to know how to do!
The reason we blind bake a pie is for a pudding pie like this chocolate cream pie, you need the pie crust to be fully baked as it is obviously going to go in the fridge with pudding inside. Blind baking is similar to par baking, but differs in that a blind bake cooks the crust fully, whereas a par bake partially bakes it so that it is set before going into the oven at a lower temperature.
- Fill with beans or weights - Prick the crust all over, then cover with a crunched up piece of parchment paper. Fill the crust right to the edges with either weights or beans.
- Bake with parchment paper - Bake the pie crust for 15-18 minutes with the weights in, until the edges are beginning to golden, then remove the weights and return the crust to the oven. This second bake is just for a few minutes and will set up the crust that was covered by the paper. Bake until the crust is evenly golden brown. Do not worry if it puffs up here - it will sink back down.
You can blind bake crust ahead of time - just leave it to cool then store lightly wrapped in plastic wrap in an airtight container for up to a day.
To get all my tips and tricks for a foolproof homemade pie crust, check out my post: How to make pie crust
How to make chocolate pie filling
Once the crust has been blind baked it is time for the chocolate pie filling. This chocolate pudding pie was the first I had ever made and there's really no point in making my own chocolate pudding recipe, as Erin's is very, very perfect and super easy to make.
- Melt chocolate with milk and cream. A hot milk mix is the base of this chocolate cream pie recipe. Chocolate, cream and milk are melted together. Using chocolate rather than cocoa powder gives a super intense delicious chocolate flavor.
- Combine egg yolks, sugar, and starch. A game changer tip Erin taught me is to combine the sugar and the starch together ahead of mixing with the yolks. This helps remove any lumps that may be in the corn starch.
- Temper the egg mixture. This is done by pouring the hot milk mixture into the egg mix, giving it time to come to temperature more slowly than if you added the egg to the milk. This helps prevent lumps - make sure that you are whisking the whole time!
- Cook until thick. Pop the chocolate pudding pie filling back onto the stove and cook until thick - you want it to come to a 'first boil' which is where there are single large bubbles in the middle of the pot rather than lots of small ones. Cook the filling until it is nice and thick.
- Add to the crust. Add the chocolate pudding pie filling to the blind baked pie crust. If you are worried about there being lumps, you can strain it through a sieve into the pie crust just to make sure.
- Leave to chill. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the edge of the filling, and leave to set completely.
How to line a pan with pie dough
Make sure you start with nice cold pie dough - ideally it will have been chilling for at least two hours or up to overnight.
- Roll out your crust - I like to use a wooden french rolling pin for pie crust but you can use whatever you like! Roll to a circle a little larger than your pie pan.
- Transfer your pie dough to the pan - Flop the dough into the pan and make sure to settle it within the pan so that it doesn't slump.
- Trim if needed - If you have loads of overhang, or your dough isn't a perfect circle, you can trim the edges with some kitchen shears
- Fold and tuck the edges under - Tuck the edges of the crust under themselves to form an edge on your pie dough - this will be what you crimp.
- Chill - At this point, pop your pie dough into the fridge just for a wee bit to allow it to chill down before you crimp.
- Crimp - I like to keep this pretty basic and just do a thumb and fingers crimp, but you can do whatever you like here.
- Chill again - You can freeze your crust here if you want, but I prefer to chill it for about half an hour instead, which I find helps it to keep its shape well in the oven when baking.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes. This chocolate cream pie can easily be prepared ahead of time. Make the pie dough up to two days ahead, and you can add the chocolate pudding filling the night before. Put the peanut butter filling on the day you serve. - What did you use to pipe the peanut butter cream?
I used a large french star tip - ateco #867 - Can I leave off the peanut butter?
If you aren't a peanut butter person, regular old whipped cream on top would be delicious too. - Which pie weights do you use?
I have a couple of sets of these. It is important to make sure you have enough so that they go right to the edges of the pie crust. Dried beans or rice work too.
For more Homemade pie recipes, check out:
Made this recipe and love it?
If you made this recipe then I would LOVE for you to leave me a review below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram if you make it!
A note on salt and oven temperature
It is important to note the type of salt that is called for in a recipe. I use Diamond Crystal salt throughout my recipes - if you use a different sort of kosher salt or regular table salt you will need to adjust accordingly as some salt is 'saltier' than others. Morton's salt is twice as salty, so you will need half the quantity. Same goes for a regular table salt. I am working to get gram measurements throughout my recipes for salt but still getting there.
All oven temperatures are conventional unless otherwise stated. If you are baking on fan / convection, you will need to adjust the temperature. An oven thermometer is a great investment to ensure that your oven is the correct temperature.
Using the double / triple function in the recipe card
You will notice that there is a '1X' '2X' '3X' button in my recipe card. This can be used for doubling or tripling a recipe. However, please note that this only doubles the ingredient quantities in the ingredients list and NOT in the method. If there are quantities or pan sizes in the method of the recipe (for example weigh out 150g brown butter), you will need to scale this number manually. It will also not change the baking time in the recipe so you will need to adjust this yourself too. It is always a good idea to read through a recipe fully before doubling it just to check this. If you would like to scale this recipe or convert for another pan size, use my calculator!
Tools and equipment
For a list of my go-to tools and equipment, I have a post you can refer to here.
Why is this recipe in grams?
I post my recipes in grams as it is the most accurate way to bake. Cups are not only inaccurate but they vary in volume worldwide. There is no way for me to provide one cup measure that works for everyone. However, posting in weight fixes this issue. If you would like the recipe in cups you are welcome to convert it yourself via google, but please do not ask me to do it for you as I am not comfortable providing a recipe using a method that I have not tested. Baking with a scale is easy, accurate, and also makes cleanup super simple. Here is the scale that I use if you would like a recommendation! Here's to accurate baking!
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Chocolate Cream Pie
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: one 9" pie 1x
- Category: Pie
- Cuisine: American
Description
The best Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe. This Chocolate pie has a homemade chocolate pudding pie filling, a buttery flaky homemade pie crust, and is topped with peanut butter whipped cream. This easy chocolate pie is a great make ahead dessert.
Ingredients
Pie Crust (Makes enough for two crusts)
- 375g all-purpose flour
- Pinch of Salt
- 2 tsp (8g) sugar
- 225g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 240g cold water
- 1 cup ice
- 60g Apple cider vinegar
Chocolate Pudding Filling
- 550g whole milk
- 120g heavy cream
- 125g chopped dark chocolate
- 200g granulated sugar
- 40g cornstarch
- ½ tsp espresso powder (optional)
- 135g egg yolks
- 30g unsalted butter, at room temp
- 10g vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Peanut Butter Whipped Cream
- 135g smooth peanut butter
- 25g Granulated Sugar
- 120g heavy cream
- 3g vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Instructions
PIE DOUGH
- Place flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Cut butter into chunks, and add to the flour. Toss lightly to coat.
- Working quickly, using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture until there are only large pea-sized chunks left. You want a few lumps of butter remaining to keep the pastry nice and tender.
- Combine ice, water and cider vinegar in a bowl. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the ice water into the flour and butter mixture, and using a stiff spatula or your hands, mix in well. Continue adding water a tablespoon at a time ( I usually start with about 120g liquid, mix that in, then go from there and add additional liquid as needed) until you have a dough that holds together well, but is not too wet.
- Squeeze together with your fingertips to make a homogenous dough. Shape into a rectangle, Rest in the fridge for one hour.
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle, fold it in thirds like a letter, then roll again and repeat the folding. Repeat this process one more time. Divide the dough into two pieces, and shape each into a disc by folding the edges under. Rewrap tightly in plastic, and rest for at least two hours, or preferably overnight, before using.
- Once the dough has rested, unwrap one disc and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to ¼” (6mm) in thickness, turning the dough 45˚ often as you are rolling to keep it even. You want the circle to be slightly larger than your pie tin. Transfer to a 9” pie tin, and arrange to ensure that the dough is well settled.
- Trim the dough using scissors or a sharp knife, leaving about one inch excess around the edges. Gently tuck the dough under and onto itself, to give you a neat folded edge. Chill in the fridge for 15-20 minutes, then remove from the fridge and crimp as desired. Dock all over with the tines of a fork, then chill for a further 30 minutes.
- While the crust is in the fridge, preheat the oven to 425˚f / 220˚c. Cut a piece of parchment slightly larger than the pie dish. Line with the parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans, filling right to the bottom of the crimps.
- Place the pie tin on a baking sheet, and place in the oven. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden brown. Remove from the oven, remove the parchment paper and beans. Return to the oven and bake for a further 5-10 minutes, until the crust is evenly golden brown.
CHOCOLATE CREAM FILLING
- In a medium saucepan, heat the milk, cream, and chocolate over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate has fully melted. Turn the heat up to medium and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Meanwhile, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and espresso powder together in a medium heatproof bowl. Whisk in the egg yolks until well combined.
- When the chocolate mixture has come to a simmer, pour about half of it into the egg yolk mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Then pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan and cook the pudding over low heat, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, until it gets very thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the butter and vanilla.
- Pour the warm pudding into the cooled pie crush and cover with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface of the pudding. Let cool at room temperature for 45 minutes then transfer to the fridge to cool completely, 3-4 hours or overnight.
PEANUT BUTTER WHIPPED CREAM
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the peanut butter and sugar on medium - high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cream and continue whipping until the mixture reaches medium peaks. Scrape down the bowl if necessary. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
- Pipe the peanut butter cream onto the pie, or dollop it on and swirl with an offset spatula.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
You may have a tiny bit of leftover pudding depending on your pie pan size - pop it into a cup and set in the fridge.
Recipe reprinted with permission from 'the fearless baker' by Erin Jeanne McDowell
Keywords: Chocolate Cream Pie, Chocolate Pudding Pie, Peanut Butter Whipped Cream, Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Comments
Any chance you have the American conversions instead of grams?
Hi! I am in America too 🙂 I don't post recipes in cups as they are not accurate. Happy to recommend a scale if you would like one!
How trying to get a list together lol about how many eggs are needed for 135g egg yolks? Thanks in advance!
Hi! One yolk is about 20g so 7-8?
Made the pudding last night and it still hasn’t set. I measured the ingredients exactly. Waste of ingredients - it’s soup and I need a new dessert for thanksgiving.
★★
Hi! So sorry it didn't work - perhaps you didn't cook it long enough? I've just made it myself an hour ago following the same recipe and it worked fine! It needs to be cooked until it's thick!
Made this for Thanksgiving and it was amazing!
★★★★★
Loved this pie! Thanks to the helpful tips regarding the pie crust, I finally made my first successful, flaky crust. The pudding filling was super easy and set perfectly. The peanut butter whipped cream was an absolute game changer. The only thing id do differently next time is to double the peanut butter whipped cream and make a thick layer of it!
★★★★★
This is such a fantastic recipe, the chocolate filling is to die for. I made this into mini pies to gift, and as a bonus had leftover filling to eat. I hadn't used apple cider vinegar in pastry before, now this will be my go to pastry recipe.
★★★★★
Hi Erin! I always have chocolate cream pie for thanksgiving but we use boxed pudding mix in my family. I just moved to Spain and couldn't find boxed pudding so I decided to try making it from scratch for the first time. I was really nervous my filling wouldn't set but this recipe was perfect and so so good. I only used the filling recipe but next time I will try the peanut butter whip. I'm already thinking about when I will get to make it! Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi! Ahhh I am so, so happy to hear that you loved it! x
This was lovely! I used my old reliable pie dough recipe in place of this one, mostly out of ease, but the pie turned out excellent. The pudding is amazing (mine took a few extra minutes to reach the desired consistency, in case that’s helpful to someone). It was a hit at the birthday party that this was served at, and I’ll definitely make it again.
★★★★★
I know this defeats the amazing mess, any suggestions on how to make this dairy free?
Not really sorry - there's milk, cream, dairy and chocolate in the recipe so you may be better going for a specific df recipe!