Chocolate Cream Pie
Chocolate Cream Pie is the ultimate creamy, dreamy, decadent dessert. With an Oreo cookie crust, a velvety smooth chocolate custard filling, and billows of whipped cream, this Chocolate Cream Pie will leave you swooning!
Ingredients
For the Oreo cookie crust:
- 20 Oreo cookies (190g)
- 3 tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
For the chocolate filling:
- 2 ½ cups (568g) half-and-half (OR 1 ¼ cups milk and 1 ¼ cups heavy cream)
- pinch of table salt
- ⅓ to ½ cup (66g-99g) granulated sugar (SEE NOTE 1)
- 2 tablespoons (14g) cornstarch
- 6 large egg yolks at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter cold, cut into 6 pieces
- 6 ounces (170g) semisweet chocolate or bittersweet chocolate finely chopped (SEE NOTE 2)
- 1 ounce (28g) unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the whipped cream topping:
- 1 ½ cups (341g) heavy cream, cold
- 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
For the optional Stabilized Whipped Cream (SEE NOTE 3):
- 1 teaspoon plain, unflavored gelatin
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon whipping cream
For the chocolate shavings:
- Bar of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate.
Instructions
For the Oreo cookie crust:
- Finely grind the Oreo cookies in a food processor, then mix with melted butter. You can do this right in the processor.
- Press the buttered crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie dish, pressing with the bottom of a measuring cup to compact the crumbs into a tight, smooth crust.
- Chill the crust in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to firm the crumbs, then bake for about 10 minutes until the crumbs are fragrant and set. Remove the crust from oven and let cool on a rack while preparing filling. (SEE NOTE 4)
For the filling:
- Bring half-and-half (or equal parts milk and heavy cream) to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally with wooden spoon to prevent scorching on the bottom of the pan.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a medium bowl by hand, whisk the egg yolks until they are lightened up, about 30 seconds.
- Add the cornstarch, sugar, and salt, and continue whisking until the mixture is glossy and slightly thickened, and the sugar has begun to dissolve, about 1 minute.
- Slowly drizzle ½ cup of the hot half-and-half over the egg yolks while whisking continuously. Then whisk the egg yolk mixture back into the rest of the hot half-and-half. It should thicken in about 30 seconds. Return to simmer, whisking constantly, until 3 or 4 bubbles burst on the surface and mixture is thickened and glossy, about 15 seconds longer.
- Take off the heat, and whisk in butter until fully incorporated and smooth. Whisk in the semisweet and unsweetened chocolates, until fully incorporated and smooth, using a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan. Whisk in the vanilla, then immediately pour through a strainer to remove and small bits of egg, then into the cooled crust.
- Cover with plastic wrap, gently pressing the plastic onto the filling, and chill until the filling is firm, about 4 hours.
For the whipped cream topping (and optional stabilized whipped cream topping):
- If making the optional stabilized whipped cream, stir 1 teaspoon of powdered, plain gelatin into 1 tablespoon of water. Let it rest for 5 minutes so the water is fully absorbed. Heat the gelatin mixture in the microwave for 5-7 seconds so that it melts and smooths. Let it cool slightly and stir in 1 teaspoon of whipping cream.
- With a cold bowl and cold beaters, whip the cream and sugar until it thickens and forms soft peaks (when you lift the beaters out of the bowl the whipped cream folds over).
- If making the optional stabilized whipped cream, with the mixer on low, slowly pour the cooled gelatin mixture in as your mixing the whipped cream.
- Continue mixing the whipped cream on medium high until you have stiff peaks (when you lift the beaters out of the bowl, the whipped cream stands straight up and doesn’t fold over), but don’t over beat it or it will not have a smooth texture.
- Top the chilled Chocolate Cream Pie with the whipped cream. Then using a vegetable peeler, run the peeler down the thin edge of a chocolate bar to make chocolate shavings. I do this right over the pie. If you touch the shavings or if your room is warm, they will melt easily.
- Top the pie with the whipped cream shortly before serving. This is especially important if not using stabilized whipped cream.
Video
Notes
NOTE 1: I use ⅓ cup sugar when using semisweet chocolate, and ½ cup sugar when using bittersweet chocolate.
NOTE 2: You can use semisweet or bittersweet chocolate for this pie. I use bittersweet because it’s easier to find a good quality bittersweet chocolate bar.
NOTE 3: I always make stabilized whipped cream. It’s just an easy extra step, but the cream stays fresh for days. Regular whipped cream will start weeping in a matter of hours, and will look quite wet and deflated the next day.
NOTE 4: You could get away with not baking the crust, however, it would be more crumbly and break more easily when slicing. If you choose not to bake the crust, stick it in the freezer while making the chocolate custard to let the crumbs firm up.
Recipe is adapted from Baking Illustrated.
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