Chocolate Cream Pie
Chocolate Cream Pie made with decadent semi-sweet chocolate custard and topped with homemade whipped cream and shaved chocolate.
It's PIE WEEK on Modern Honey! I have been on the quest to discover the ultimate Chocolate Cream Pie. This French Silk Chocolate Pie is made from scratch using the highest-quality ingredients. The pie starts off with a handcrafted chocolate custard made with semi-sweet chocolate, heavy cream, whole milk, egg yolks, cornstarch to thicken, and a touch of butter. The custard is thick enough to hold up yet the texture is creamy, silky, and smooth.
To make a perfect chocolate pie has taken some trial and error. I have made my fair share of chocolate pies in the process! I heard about a rich chocolate pie recipe made with a hefty dose of butter, chocolate, and cream and couldn't wait to try it. It was definitely rich and the chocolate flavor was on the point but it had too much butter which created a chalky texture when chilled. So, I kept persevering on and discovered that a homemade chocolate custard was the answer.
I am sharing all of the tips and tricks below as to how to make the perfect homemade chocolate pie. This pie is worth every single calorie!
How to make the perfect Chocolate Cream Pie:
It starts with using high-quality chocolate. I reach for Guittard, Ghirardelli, Trader Joe's, or Callebaut. You can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate or if you like a sweeter chocolate, use milk chocolate.
Chocolate custard is made with sugar, egg yolks, heavy cream, milk, chocolate, cocoa, cornstarch, and a touch of butter to make it silky smooth. Use a whisk to stir custard while it cooks and thickens. Let the cornstarch do its job.
Let it chill. The chocolate custard needs time to set-up and solidify. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or foil and place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Place the chilled chocolate custard into baked pie shell when ready to serve. This allows the pie crust to remain flaky on the bottom. Cover with homemade whipped cream just before serving. Sprinkle with shaved chocolate (I use Trader Joe's Pound Plus Bar).
Click the links below for more pie recipes:
Lemon Sour Cream Pie
Caramel Apple Pie
White Chocolate Macadamia Chocolate Ganache Pie
Double Chocolate Marble Pie
The BEST Pumpkin Pie
Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie
Sweet Cherry Pie
Traditional Perfect Pumpkin Pie
Caramel Banana Cream Pie
Chocolate Cream Pie
Ingredients
Chocolate Custard Filling:
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 1 ½ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate may use milk chocolate if you want a sweeter pie
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla
- ¾ cup Sugar
- ¼ cup Cornstarch
- 3 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 3 Egg Yolks
- 2 cups Whole Milk
Whipped Cream:
- 2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- ½ cup Powdered Sugar
- Pre-Baked Pie Crust: -- All-Butter Pie Crust Recipe
Garnish:
- Shaved Chocolate Bar
Instructions
- Place the chopped chocolate, butter, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt.
- Whisk in ½ cup of cold heavy cream until the mixture is smooth. Repeat with another ½ cup of the cream. Whisk in the egg yolks.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat, and gradually whisk in the whole milk.
- Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Let boil for 1 minute.
- Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture over the chocolate and butter.
- Whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is silky smooth.
- Place plastic wrap on surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming, and chill for 3-4 hours.
- Make pie crust and pre-bake according to directions here -- All-Butter Pie Crust Recipe. Let cool. Once cooled and chocolate custard has completely chilled and set-up, spread chocolate filling into pie crust.
- In a large mixing bowl, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Fold in powdered sugar and continue to beat until peaks form. Spread or pipe over chocolate custard.
- Sprinkle with grated chocolate bar.
Happy Baking, my friends! Find all of Modern Honey's Thankgiving recipes on www.modernhoney.com/thanksgiving.
Brian K. Hlady
A favorite in our house. I'm using 3 oz of Dark Chocolate and 4 oz of semi-sweet, and a splash of coffee.
Tracy
Can I replace cornstarch with flour? Or anything else?
Cindy
Absolutely wonderful! I ground up chocolate chips for the chocolate. I also added 1 tsp vanilla to the whipped cream, as I usually do, and it was perfect!
Emily Dunlap
Best pie ever. I’ve been making this since it was posted. I always use chocolate chips, a mix of dark, semi sweet, and milk. It’s never okay after just one minute boiling though. I typically have to boil for 3.5 minutes for it to set up and not be soupy or too soft set. We seriously love it though. Made one for NYE tonight.
Mark
“Let boil for 1 minute.” The chocolate seized. This is a long time to boil a custard like this but I followed the directions anyway. Now I’m going to redo the filling, this time turning the heat off as soon as the mixture congeals.
Kathryn Baldassari
This pie is AMAZING! Simply heaven! This was the first time I have ever made a chocolate cream pie. Your recipe seemed so user friendly...thank you! My husband has been raving about this pie since we had it for dessert last night. He is a true chocoholic!
I used 1 1/2 cups of Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips and didn’t even pay attention to how full the measuring cup was...and the silky smooth rich filling is like eating chocolate mousse. Absolutely perfect!
Kate
Absolutely delicious! Amazing recipe!
Lisa Nieto
This is an amazing recipe! I will make it again. Its even better frozen!
Gailee
I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THIS PIE TODAY HOWEVER I ONLY HAVE CHOCOLATE CHIPS..
DO YOU HAVE THE ACTUAL MEASUREMENT WHEN USING CHIPS?
IS IT STILL 2 1/2 CUPS ?
PLEASE REPLY AS IM SO EXCITED TO GET STARTED !!
Desiree Szelc
I have tried this twice and did everything as the instructions are written but for some reason mine won’t set. I end up with something that has more of a liquid consistency. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong. I’m using Ghirardelli chocolate chips as the chocolate, could a cup and a half of those be too much?
JUDY RITACCO
I just found THE perfect chocolate cream pie ever. I've tried a few recipes and they were always soupy but this held up as a true chocolate pudding cream pie. I wanted a milder milk chocolate taste so I used Guittard mik chocolate chips along with sweetened cocoa powder. Therefore I reduced the sugar from 3/4c to 1/2c. This is delicious and finally I have the best chocolate pie recipe!
Donna
I would like to try making this pie but I’m wondering if I can use the chocolate in chip form rather than squares to save time on the chopping?
Dana Olsen
Perfect! I have several requests for French Silk Pie for Thanksgiving. Your recipe looks like it should be perfect even though it is called chocolate cream pie. Am I correct?
Made your pumpkin bread for a work breakfast today and everyone loved it! I just sent all my coworkers a link to your fabulous website. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your beautiful family,
Dana O.
Modern Honey
Hi Dana! It is very similar but this one has a little less butter and more chocolate. It is similar to a chocolate mousse pie. The chocolate in ounces is 9 ounces. I hope that helps! Also, thank you for trying my pumpkin bread. I really appreciate the support! Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Dana Olsen
I am confused about measuring 1 1/2 cups chocolate. It seems like that could vary significantly based on how coarse/fine it is chopped. Could you be more specific or indicate the amount in ounces? The pie looks amazing. Can’t wait to try it! Thank you!
Modern Honey
Hi Dana! I agree with you. I use my scale for so much of my baking but most bakers in American rely on cups so I usually just list the cup measurement. It is more precise with grams so I will most likely go back and start adding that to my recipes as well. I will work on getting back to you today with the precise measurements. Thanks!
Lolo
1 1/2 cups equal 12ozs of chocolate. Your choice is the chocolate, Semi sweet chocolate is most common or milk chocolate if you want a sweeter pie your choice
Modern Honey
Hi Lolo! Chocolate works a little differently. 6 ounces of chocolate equals 1 cup. 12 ounces equals 2 cups. 🙂
Rosemary
Modern honey, would meringue work on this pie! I wonder if baking the meringue would interfere with chocolate firming up. Please respond.
Kt
I have the same question. I don't want to use chips so I need a weight. Weight makes more sense.
Kellie
This pie was a huge hit for my husband's coworkers for christmas! I made one for our personal Christmas dinner and it was amazing. Thank you for your recipes. This is the 4th recipe I've done of yours and they all have been amazing.
Kristen Wright
For the custard, do you use salted or unsalted butter?