The Best Chocolate Cream Pie with Vanilla Whipped Cream

This luxurious chocolate cream pie has a buttery, crumbly graham cracker crust, silky chocolate custard filling, and fresh, 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. It’s the dessert that I always make when we have company, and it’s become a favorite with my family and friends.

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 double chocolate 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, rather than baked.

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

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.
• 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.
• 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 at room temperature for 2 hours; it will still be warm, but no longer steaming hot.
• Spread the custard into the baked crust, and chill in the refrigerate for 6-8 hours, until set, or overnight.

Make the Whipped Cream.

• Before serving, whip the cold heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until thick; serve with the pie.
• If you like, garnish with a sprinkling of graham cracker crumbs and chopped chocolate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I substitute for the graham crackers?

You can use honey, cinnamon or chocolate graham crackers, or digestive biscuits, vanilla wafers, or even chocolate sandwich cookies (minus the cream filling).

What’s the best cocoa powder and chocolate to use for a chocolate pie?

My favorite cocoa powder for baking is Rodelle and Drost, both Dutch-processed cocoa powders. For the chopped chocolate added after cooking the custard, use a good-quality chocolate that’s between 50-60% cacao. I love using Chocolove Dark Chocolate 55%.

Does a chocolate pie need to be baked?

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.

Why does my homemade whipped cream deflate?

Homemade whipped cream can deflate if it’s not stabilized. If you plan to just serve the whipped cream on the side, this isn’t really a problem, but if you want to pipe the cream onto the pie and trust that it won’t weep or deflate, you need to make a stabilized whipped cream. To do this, whip just the cold heavy whipping cream until it becomes thick and billowy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and continue to whip until thick peaks form that hold their shape. You can now spread or pipe it onto your pie without fear of the whipped cream deflating. A pinch of cream of tartar can also help to stabilize whipped cream.

How long does chocolate pie last?

You should store your pie in the refrigerator, loosely covered. It’s best eaten within 2-3 days.

How did you make the chocolate curls?

I discuss making chocolate curls in this recipe for chocolate espresso cake topped with chocolate curls.

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