“The flavors in this pie are uncomplicated and delicious. Add orange zest, peppermint oil or coffee extract to it if you want to get fancy,” says Duff.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 4 hr |
| Active: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 disk homemade pie dough
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
- 1/2 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate (about 3.5 ounces)
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 extra-large egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped out
- 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
- Shaved white, milk and bittersweet chocolate, for decorating
Instructions
- Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out the pie dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface, then fit into a 9-inch pie dish. Fold the overhanging dough under itself and crimp the edges.
- Place a piece of parchment paper in the pie crust and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until the crust is starting to set and the edges are browning, about 20 minutes. Remove the parchment and beans and continue to bake until completely golden and crisp looking, another 5 minutes. (If the edges are getting too brown, cover them with some foil.) Let the crust cool completely.
- Melt the bittersweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Using a pastry brush, paint the inside of the pie shell with the melted chocolate in a thin even layer. Set aside to harden.
- Meanwhile, make the filling: Pour 2 cups milk into a heatproof bowl and set over the pan of simmering water. Heat until the milk is almost, but not quite, boiling. Add the unsweetened chocolate and stir until it?s completely melted. Set aside off the heat.
- In a big bowl, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt. Whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup milk, then stir into the hot chocolate-milk mixture. Return the double boiler to medium-high heat. Whisk in the egg yolks and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is very thick, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla until smooth. Let the filling cool slightly, then pour into the pie shell. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the filling and refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours or overnight.
- Right before serving, make the whipped cream: Beat the mascarpone, sugar and vanilla seeds in a large bowl with a mixer until creamy. Add the heavy cream and continue to beat until it holds medium-stiff peaks.
- Add the whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe generously on top of the pie. Sprinkle with shaved chocolate.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 606 |
| Total Fat | 40 g |
| Saturated Fat | 23 g |
| Carbohydrates | 57 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 45 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Cholesterol | 201 mg |
| Sodium | 303 mg |
Reviews
This is my go to chocolate pie recipe, I do a small amount of espresso powder to amp up the chocolate flavor. Hate to say but it’s better than my grandmas pie, enjoy this topping to meringue any day!
I made this pie for company, it was a big hit! The taste is rich but not too sweet. I have added it to my sure to please everyone list. Thank you Duff for this luscious recipe
Fantastic! I had no issues with thickening. Cooked it for 20 minutes and whisked constantly (tiring to say the least). Family loved it!
For those who has their filling fail to thicken…Since this is a flour / corn starch thickened filling, it likely did not cook long enough to convert the starches. My son had this problem, so we put it back on the stove for another ~20 mins and it thickened nicely.
Tasted amazing, but didn’t thicken properly in two tries. The first time it was more like chocolate milk, and I graduated to pudding on the second but too loose to cut. I’m going to try agian, and maybe try additional recommendations here from reviews to stir less and leave longer.
It takes a LONG time to thicken, but it will! I recommend not stirring it as much as the recipe states, I think that’s what prevents it from setting up. Once I figured that out, it took about 45 minutes to fully set up. It is completely worth the time and effort though!
Filling thickened perfectly for me. Tastes amazing!! The whipped topping is good too. Mascarpone is not a huge fave of mine but Im sure it will blend well with the chocolate. I did substitute meringue instead of the heavy cream cause I didn’t have any. So I kept the whites from the egg yokes used in the filling. Then I folded it into the mascarpone. I put a splash of milk in the masc. to make it a little creamer first. Turned out well enough. Too soft to pipe but holds up enough to spread over top and decorate.
Filling tastes great, but never thickened (even after doubling double-boiler stirring time!) and never set. I hate waste so I’m just gonna’ put it in the freezer and hope it turns out ok :-/
This recipe’s filling DID NOT thicken. I even added more corn starch and chocolate. I have no idea why. It still tasted good, so we’re freezing it and saving it for hot chocolate.
My boyfriend has been asking me to make him a homemade chocolate cream pie for years, and this was my first attempt. I loved that it didn’t involve pudding or cool whip, and even though I used a refrigerated pie crust, wow – it did not disappoint! He loved it! I did add a couple tablespoons of cold-brewed coffee to the chocolate to enhance the flavor, and I used Neufchâtel cheese instead of marscapone.