Chocolate Cream Pie

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My take on Chocolate Cream Pie starts with a sweet Oreo cookie crust and is filled with a rich and creamy homemade chocolate pudding. Sweetened whipped cream and chocolate curls finish off the pie beautifully!

Heads-up: This recipe requires a long chilling time. It's best made over two days! We like to prepare the crust and creamy pudding filling on day one and then chill the pie overnight. The next day the custard is set and the pie is ready to be finished. The custard/pudding filling needs a good 10+ hours to fully firm up and there really isn't any way to rush this.

Course Dessert, treat, Vegetarian

Cuisine American

Keyword Chocolate Cream Pie, chocolate cream pie recipe

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Chilling Time 10 hours

Total Time 10 hours 50 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 363kcal

Author Chelsea Lords

Cost $8.42

Ingredients

Oreo Crust

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1-3/4 cups chocolate cookie crumbs ~24 cookies (like Oreos)
Tiny pinch fine sea salt

Chocolate Filling

3/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 oz. (two 4 oz. packets) semi-sweet baking bars (Note 1)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2-4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional: 1 chocolate bar for topping

US - Metric

Instructions

OREO CRUST: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray. Melt 4 tbsp. butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Once melted, set aside to cool for 5 minutes. (Hot butter will cause a greasy crust.) Chop the whole cookies in a blender or food processor (without separating cookie from cream) until they are all fine crumbs, re-blending any large chunks). Measure to get a level 1 and 3/4 cups of crumbs and add to a large bowl. Add salt to the bowl. Use a spatula to scrape in every bit of butter and mix until well combined.
FINISH CRUST: Empty the crumb mixture into the prepared pan. Using your fingers, press the crumbs up along all the sides and then into the bottom of the pan. Use the bottom of a flat 1-cup measuring cup to thoroughly compress the crumbs into a firm crust. Bake for 9 minutes; remove and set aside to fully cool.
FILLING: Before starting the filling, chop the chocolate bars and set aside. In a medium-sized pot, off the heat, add sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Whisk to combine. Add all 4 egg yolks. While whisking constantly, add in whole milk and then heavy cream. Whisk until all ingredients are completely integrated. Now add the pot to the heat and turn to just below medium. Whisk occasionally as the mixture warms up and alternate between whisking and using a rubber spatula to scrape around the sides and bottom of the pot to ensure no pockets of cornstarch get stuck. It's important to heat this mixture gradually.
FILLING, CONTINUED: Once you feel the mixture begin to thicken, start whisking constantly. Then, as soon as you see big bubbles in the center of the mixture, set your timer for 1 minute and whisk constantly (reduce heat slightly if it's bubbling up too intensely). Mixture should be thickened substantially into a thick pudding. After 1 minute, remove from the heat. After 1 minute, remove from the heat and whisk for another full minute off heat. Then add in the butter and whisk until the butter is completely melted. Once butter is melted, add in the chocolate. Whisk constantly until fully melted and smooth; add in the vanilla and whisk again.
FINISH FILLING: Use a spatula to scrape everything from the pot into the cooled crust, smoothing the top with the spatula. Gently place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface, pressing along the top of the pie. (The plastic will prevent a skin from forming on the surface of the pudding.) Place in the fridge and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or until the filling is fully set.
WHIPPED CREAM: Pour heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar (add to sweetness preference; start with 2 tablespoons and add an additional 2 if you like it sweeter), and vanilla into a bowl attached to a stand mixer. Whisk on low speed to combine. Gradually increase to high speed until medium-to-stiff peaks form, about 2-4 minute(s). Watch carefully to avoid over-beating. Smooth cream over the pie and if desired, add some chocolate shavings. To do so: unwrap a chocolate bar and peel with a vegetable peeler directly onto the pie. Serving: for clean slices, use a sharp knife. I like to run the knife under hot water, quickly dry it off, and then make a cut. Repeat for each cut.

Video

Notes

Note 1: Chocolate baking bars: Chocolate chips and baking morsels have stabilizers that keep them from melting completely smooth. (This is good when you want them to stay in a chip shape for cookies, but not so much when you want a smooth pudding.) We recommend good-quality baking bars made for melting like (such as Baker’s, Lindt, or Ghirardelli).

Nutrition