Chocolate Pie
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This easy chocolate pie is made on a baked graham cracker crust with a creamy pudding filling. It is perfect for all your parties!
I absolutely love this creamy, cool chocolate pudding pie recipe. It is the real deal! It is just like grandma would have made.
You’ll find that the luscious chocolate pudding is best topped with homemade whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Yum!
This recipe is easily adaptable. While the baked graham cracker crust gives the recipe stability, you can substitute for almost any cookie you prefer.
While the process to make this pie may take some time, it is worth the wait.
This is especially true when you consider that the pie can be made as far as 3 days prior to serving.
If you like this pie, you will love my french silk pie.
Why this recipe works
- This chocolate pudding pie recipe uses Dutch-processed cocoa for a smoother flavor.
- The espresso powder in this recipe enhances the chocolate flavor in the pie.
- The pie can be made ahead. It is so convenient for all your entertaining needs.
This delicious chocolate pie recipe will be a huge hit at all your parties and get togethers.
What you need
The authentic ingredients used in this chocolate pie make all the difference. Let’s discuss just a few of the key ingredients:
Ingredients
This is a short overview of the ingredients I used and why I chose them. The full recipe can be found at the bottom of the post!
- Graham crackers: I use 9 whole crackers or 1 sleeve for the crust. However, you can use any type of cookie in their place.
- Sugar: The granulated sugar adds the perfect amount of sweetness to the crust and the filling.
- Butter: The unsalted butter acts as the glue in the crust and holds it together.
- Cornstarch: This ingredient acts as a thickening agent in the filling.
- Cocoa Powder: The Dutch-process cocoa powder has a smoother flavor, but you could substitute it with natural cocoa.
- Salt & Vanilla: The salt balances the sweetness in the pie, while the vanilla extract adds a sweet aroma to the pie.
- Milk & Cream: These ingredients make the pie filling has a wonderful richness.
- Egg yolks: The egg yolks help thicken the filling and provide structure to the pie.
- Chocolate: You’ll want to finely chop the semisweet chocolate for the filling. Shavings make a great garnish, as well.
How to make chocolate pie
1. Make the crust
The homemade pie crust is the foundation of this recipe, so take special care in its preparation.
- Prepare the oven by preheating to 350°F.
- Add graham crackers to your food processor. Pulse until finely ground.
- In a bowl, combine the crumbs and sugar until well blended.
- Drizzle butter onto crumbs. Then, stir with a fork until crumbs are moistened.
- Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of your 9-inch pie pan. Pack it tightly to prevent crumbling when serving the pie later.
- Finally, bake for 10 minutes.
- If the crust appears puffy, press down with the back of a spoon or measuring cup.
- Set aside. Cool completely before adding the filling.
2. Make the chocolate pie filling
This filling is a cool, creamy chocolate pudding made from real chocolate and cocoa powder.
- In a heat-proof bowl, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt until well combined.
- To dissolve cocoa powder, whisk in ½ cup of milk. Then, whisk in egg yolks.
- Add the remaining 1 cup of milk and cream to a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- When the mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate.
- Once the chocolate has melted, pour the hot mixture into the egg mixture from before. Whisk constantly.
- Transfer back to the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. (It should resemble the consistency of mayo.)
- Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla.
- Press the mix through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any clumps.
- Then, immediately pour the mix into the prepared pie crust.
3. Refrigerate and serve
Like revenge, this chocolate pie is best served cold.
- Spread the pudding evenly in the crust. Cover the filling with plastic wrap. It should be touching the filling to prevent a skin from forming.
- Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm.
- Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate shavings or cocoa powder prior to serving.
Jen’s Best tips
- If you want to switch up the chocolate pie crust, you can use Oreos, digestive biscuits, gluten free cookies or any of your favorite cookies.
- You can swap out semisweet chocolate for bittersweet or dark chocolate.
- If you don’t have heavy cream, you can use half and half.
- You can omit the espresso powder if you don’t have it on hand.
Storing & Freezing
To store: This recipe can be made in advance. It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days before serving. Make sure to cover it tightly with plastic wrap.
To Freeze: I do not recommend freezing this pie because it contains cornstarch in the filling.
Other pie recipes to try
You know you can never just have one pie! These are some of my other favorites for serving guests:
Chocolate Pie
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 ½ cups (150 g) graham cracker crumbs, about 9 whole crackers or 1 full sleeve
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the filling
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (37 g) cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (360 ml) milk, divided
- 4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
- 4 ounces (113 g) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- homemade whipped cream, or you can use store-bought for garnish
- chocolate shavings, or cocoa powder for garnish
Instructions
Make the crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add graham crackers to a food processor and pulse until finely ground.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar until well blended.
- Drizzle the butter over the crumbs, and then, stir with a fork until the crumbs are evenly moistened.
- Tightly press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. The bottom of a clean measuring cup works best for this. Packing it tight will make sure it holds together and doesn’t crumble when sliced!
- Bake for 10 minutes. If crust puffs up during baking, press it back down with a spoon or measuring cup. Allow the crust to cool before adding the filling.
Make the filling
- In a medium heat-proof bowl, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt until well combined. Whisk in ½ cup of the milk to dissolve the cocoa powder. Then whisk in the egg yolks.
- Add the remaining 1 cup milk and cream to a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat. As soon as the mixture begins to boil remove from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate. Once the chocolate has melted, gradually pour the hot mixture into the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Transfer back to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened; about 5-8 minutes. It should be the consistency of mayonnaise.
- Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.
- Press the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any clumps. Immediately pour the filling into the prepared pie crust. Spread the pudding evenly in the curst. Cover the filling with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap is touching the filling to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm.
- Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate shavings or cocoa powder just before serving.
Notes
- Graham crackers: You can use any type of cookie for the crust. Digestive biscuits, Oreos, or vanilla wafers are also great options.
- Cocoa powder: You can use natural cocoa if you don’t have Dutch-processed. Keep in mind Dutch-processed has a smoother flavor.
- Espresso powder: You can omit this if you don’t have it. It enhances the chocolate flavor but the pie will taste great without it.
- Milk: Whole, 2%, or reduced fat will work with this recipe.
- Heavy cream: Half and half can be used if you don’t have heavy cream.
- Chocolate: I prefer semisweet chocolate but bittersweet is also a great option.
- Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Due to the cornstarch in the filling, I do not recommend freezing this pie.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided is for convenience and as a courtesy only. It is not guaranteed to be accurate because nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator and input the exact ingredients and brands you used in the recipe.