This luxurious chocolate cream pie has a buttery, crumbly graham cracker crust, silky chocolate custard filling, and soft vanilla whipped cream topping. The chocolate custard is rich and dark, made with both Dutch-processed cocoa powder and dark chocolate, finished with a bit of butter and vanilla extract. A chocolate pudding pie is the dessert that I often make when we have company for dinner or the holidays, and it’s become a favorite with my family and friends.
You might also love this banana cream pie, coconut cream pie and key lime pie.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Sweet and Salty Flavors. A chocolate cream pie is traditionally made with a flaky pie crust, but I just love the texture and flavor of a salted graham cracker crust with the dark chocolate pudding filling. If you do like a pastry crust for your chocolate pie, be sure to blind bake or pre-bake the pie crust first, since the chocolate cream filling is cooked on the stove, not baked in the oven.
Easy to Make. With a press-in-the-pan graham cracker crust, and a chocolate custard filling that cooks quickly on the stove, you’ll love how easy this recipe is to master.
Perfect for Company. Over the past few years, this pie has been my go-to dessert when we have company over. It’s the perfect size to serve everyone a slice, and it’s always gone by the end of the night.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- Graham Crackers. Use either regular or chocolate graham crackers for a delicious, crumbly crust.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness. If you like a saltier crust, which I do, use the full 1 teaspoon in the recipe. I usually use Kroger brand coarse Kosher salt, but Morton’s is saltier, so I always use about half as much when using Morton’s. For a less salty flavor, just use 3/4 teaspoon. If using finer grain table salt, use 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon.
- Unsalted Butter. Melted butter binds the crushed graham crackers together.
Chocolate Cream Filling
- Cocoa Powder + Dark Chocolate. Both Dutch-processed cocoa powder and good-quality dark chocolate adds a deep, rich chocolate flavor to this chocolate cream pie. For the chocolate, I recommend one that’s between 55-70% cacao for a rich chocolate flavor that’s not too sweet.
- Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness to balance the bitterness of the cocoa powder.
- Corn Starch. Thickens the custard.
- Whole Milk. Gives the pie a rich, creamy flavor and texture.
- Egg Yolks. Add richness and help to thicken the custard.
- Unsalted Butter. Adds richness, flavor and shine.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
Vanilla Whipped Cream
- Heavy Whipping Cream. Whips into beautiful, fluffy clouds of whipped cream.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and stabilizes the whipped cream.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
Instructions
Bake the Crust.
- Preheat the oven to 325 F. Combine the crushed graham crackers and salt, then add the melted butter and toss with a fork until moist. Press the crumbs firmly against the bottom and up the sides of a deep-dish pie pan or 9-inch tart pan.
- Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes, until toasted and fragrant, then set aside to cool.
Cook the Filling.
- In a large saucepan, whisk together the cocoa powder, sugar and corn starch.
- In a bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk and egg yolks. Slowly pour the milk and egg yolks into the saucepan, whisking together with the dry ingredients until smooth.
- Over medium heat, cook the custard while whisking constantly, until it thickens and begins to boil, then continue cooking for one more minute. Depending on the heat, it might take 8-10 minutes to thicken.
- Remove the custard from the heat and whisk in the butter, vanilla and chopped chocolate until smooth.
TIP: Corn starch is activated by heat. Your pie filling will only thicken and set properly when the filling comes to a boil, so be sure to continue cooking your filling for the full 1 minute after the custard boils, as per the instructions.
Strain the Custard, and Chill the Pie.
- Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer (to remove any bits of cooked egg) into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, resting right against the surface of the custard (this prevents a skin from forming on top), and let it cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour; it will still be warm, but no longer steaming hot.
- Spread the custard into the baked crust, and chill in the refrigerator for about 2-3 hours, until set. If you like, sprinkle the top of the filling with a little more chopped chocolate or chocolate curls.
Make the Whipped Cream.
- Before serving, whip the cold heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until thick; serve with the pie.
Recipe Variation: German Chocolate Pie
I love German chocolate cake, with all that sweet coconut pecan caramel frosting to complement the rich chocolate cake, and I had the idea to incorporate those flavors into this pie. So I sprinkled the top of the pie with 1/4 cup each unsweetened coconut flakes, chopped pecans and chopped chocolate. Then I drizzled it all with 1/4 cup caramel sauce. It’s absolutely wonderful.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use any flavor of graham crackers, such as honey, cinnamon or chocolate, but if you can’t find those, digestive biscuits are a good substitute.
I used Cacao Barry Extra Brute Dutch processed cocoa powder, which has a wonderful rich flavor and smooth texture.
For the chopped chocolate in the pie filling, use a good-quality chocolate that’s between 55-70% cacao. I used Lindt 70% dark chocolate. The darker the chocolate you use, the less sweet the filling will be.
Only the crust needs to be baked. The chocolate cream filling is not baked, but rather is cooked and thickened on the stove before you spread it into the baked crust.
Homemade whipped cream can deflate within a few hours of being whipped if it’s not stabilized. If you plan to just serve the whipped cream on the side, or the entire pie is going to be eaten immediately, this isn’t really a problem. But if you want to spread or pipe the cream onto the pie in advance and trust that it won’t weep or deflate, you need to make a stabilized whipped cream. You can find my stabilized whipped cream recipe here.
You should store your pie in the refrigerator, loosely covered. It’s best eaten within 2-3 days.
I don’t recommend using chocolate chips, since they contain stabilizers that prevent them from melting smoothly.
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Chocolate Cream Pie
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 ¾ cups finely crushed graham crackers (about 1 1/2 sleeves)
- 3/4-1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Chocolate Cream Filling
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup corn starch
- 3 cups whole milk
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cold
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (between 55-70% cacao)
Vanilla Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 325 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom or a deep-dish pie pan with non-stick baking spray.
- Combine the crushed graham crackers and salt, then add the melted butter and toss with a fork until moist. Press the crumbs firmly against the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
- Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes, until toasted and fragrant, then set aside to cool.
Filling
- In a large saucepan, whisk together the cocoa powder, sugar and corn starch.
- In a bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk and egg yolks. Slowly pour the milk and egg yolks into the saucepan, whisking together with the dry ingredients until smooth.
- Over medium heat, cook the custard while whisking constantly, until it thickens and begins to boil, then continue cooking for one more minute. Depending on the heat, it might take 8-10 minutes to thicken.
- Remove the custard from the heat and whisk in the butter, vanilla and chopped chocolate until smooth.
- Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer (to remove any bits of cooked egg) into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, resting right against the surface of the custard (this prevents a skin from forming on top), and let it cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour; it will still be warm, but no longer steaming hot.
- Spread the custard into the baked crust, and chill in the refrigerator for about 2-3 hours, until set. If you like, sprinkle the top of the filling with a little more chopped chocolate or chocolate curls.
Whipped Cream
- Before serving, whip the cold heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until thick; serve with the pie.
Excellent recipe!
I made this chocolate cream pie for Easter dessert. I had not tried a cream pie before but the results was really awesome! If you’re tempted to skip the homemade crust, don’t! It’s well worth the extra effort.
I used 3/4 tsp of Morton’s coarse salt and was so pleased with the taste. I also opted for using cream cheese in the whipped cream and was impressed with the difference it made. I have made several of Heather’s recipes and have not ever been disappointed but this recipe might be the best one I’ve made.
I made this pie .it is excellent with a deep chocolate flavor not overpowered with sweetness.
Can I make this pie the day before serving?
You can make it the night before. Any sooner than that, and the graham crust can start to soften from the filling.
Wow a crowd pleaser for sure! This pie was a hit for Christmas dessert, I think it will become a tradition! I made the custard & crust the night before and the crust held up perfectly. I made the whipped cream the day of to serve. Such a delicious recipe, perfectly balanced, not overly sweet and we love the saltiness from the crust. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear it! This is honestly one of my favorite pies.
Can I use all semi sweet chocolate? I don’t like a strong bitter taste.
Sure, if you like it a little sweeter.
Yum! Made it for Pi Day. The chocolate filling was so smooth and the salty crust balanced the sweetness.
Every Saturday I make a “weekend” dinner with one of your desserts. Today I made this chocolate cream pie in a rectangular tart pan with piped stabilized whipped cream and shaved chocolate to garnish. It looked very elegant. I used a chinois to strain the pudding to give it a perfectly smooth texture. This dessert was a BIG hit!
What a nice weekend tradition! This pie is truly one of my family’s favorites, so I’m really happy you loved it.