Oh my goodness! Chocolate Cream Pie is a chocolate lover’s dream, or maybe one of many dreams. Top it with some fresh whipped cream and you have the best of all worlds. This would be a great substitute for a birthday cake! For it’s chocolate flavor, I used a combination of cocoa and semi-sweet chocolate chips, which most people have on hand. Next time, maybe I’ll try milk chocolate chips for a different spin! You bet there will be a next time! Now, let’s get the process started.
Blind- Baked Pie Crust
My favorite crust is my Ultimate All-Butter Pie Crust. You may follow the link given and prepare it with those specific instructions, but I will give you a quick version of the process. Once the crust is formed and edges crimped, place it wrapped in plastic in the fridge to chill. I planned this a day ahead of time so it would be ready to go when the grandkids arrived to spend the weekend. In the second picture, you will notice what appears to be little white specks; that’s the butter within the pie crust. When it bakes, the butter will melt and leave little pockets of air making the crust so flaky! (Check out crust above.) The third picture shows a beautifully blind-baked pie crust. It’s first baked lined with parchment paper and a layer of pie weights or dried beans. They are removed to reveal a crust that retains form. Then, it’s pricked with a fork and brushed with a frothy egg white. The egg white provides a shield from the moisture of the filling. Let it cool and all that’s left is the filling! Now, if homemade pie crusts aren’t your thing or you are in a hurry, a store-bought crust would be fine to use, but the taste of this one is hard to beat.
The Filling:
- Milk and chocolate chips: Microwave the milk for 2 minutes. Add the chocolate chips and let it sit for a couple of minutes; stir to blend in the melted chocolate.
- Egg yolks and Sugar: Mix together in a medium bowl.
- Dry Ingredients: In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa, cornstarch and salt.
- Butter and vanilla: Once off of the heat source, these are stirred in.
Add the dry ingredients to the egg/sugar mixture.
Then, blend in the chocolate/mlk mixture. Once combined, pour into a medium saucepan.
Over MEDUM heat, stir constantly until thickened to a pudding-type consistency keeping its form and beginning to boil, about 8 minutes. Watch carefully!
Take off heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Whisk every 5 minutes for 20 minutes; it should be warm to touch.
Fill it:
Stir the filling one more time and pour it into the cooled pie crust. Level out the filling and allow it to sit at room temperature on cooling rack until bottom of pie dish is no longer warm to touch. Either place it in a covered pie container or cover with plastic and store in the refrigerator. Allow it to chill a few hours before cutting to serve. Top with whipped cream for a delightful combination!
Slice it:
I want you to focus on this Ultimate All-Butter Pie Crust. You desire to have a moist filling and a dry, not soggy, crust. The flaky crust makes each bite even more tantalizing! Remember the pie crust pictures above? Those little white dots of butter melt and leave little air pockets behind making it so flaky. By brushing the interior of the crust with egg whites before the second bake of the blind-baked pie crust, it helps to seal it to avoid a soggy bottom! It’s a win, win and so worth the effort. Now, go eat a slice of this Chocolate Cream Pie!
Chocolate Cream PIe
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch blind baked pie crust
- 1 large egg white, beaten until frothy
Filling
- 2-3/4 c milk
- 2/3 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 c granulated sugar
- 4 large egg YOLKS
- 1/4 c cocoa
- 1/4 c cornstarch
- 1/2 t Kosher salt
- 2 T butter, cut into small bits
- 2 t vanilla
Instructions
Pie Crust
- Blind-bake pie crust according to package directions or use link to recipe in post above.
Filling
- Heat milk in microwave for 2 minutes on HIGH.
- Add the chocolate chips and allow it to sit for about 2 minutes.
- Stir until chocolate is blended. If necessary, heat at 10 second increments and stir again.
- In medium bowl, mix the sugar and egg YOLKS together.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa, cornstarch and salt together. Then, blend it into the egg/sugar mixture until well incorporated.
- Next, add in the chocolate milk mixture until well blended then pour all contents into a medium saucepan.
- Over MEDUIM heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and just beginning to bubble. Consistency should hold its form like pudding.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla until well blended. Let it rest for about 20 mnutes until it becomes "warm", stirring every 5 minutes to maintain its smoot texture.
- Pour into cooled pie shell and let it sit on cooling rack until it has completely cooled.
- Place in a pie container or cover with plastic wrap in the fridge. Chill for a few hours before slicing.
