This high altitude chocolate chess pie is made with a homemade pastry crust and a rich and creamy chocolate filling that tastes like fudge brownies.
You might also like these recipes for chocolate eclair pie, chocolate cream pie and chocolate brownie pie.
This site contains affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means that I may make a small commission if you purchase a product using those links. This in no way affects my opinion of those products and services. All opinions expressed on this site are my own.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Perfectly Fudgy. This chocolate chess pie has a fudgy texture, similar to brownies, but is also very soft and almost creamy in the middle. It’s thin, but very rich, and wonderful topped with whipped cream or ice cream.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet, and this is a tried and true brownie recipe that so many of you already love. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Pie Dough. You’ll be starting with my recipe for All Butter Pie Dough. The pastry is buttery, flaky and crisp, and I explain in detail how to make the best pie crust in my original pie dough recipe post.
- Chocolate. For the right amount of sweetness in this recipe, you’ll need to use a semi sweet chocolate (between 55-65% cacao. Both chocolate chips and a bar of chocolate work well.
- Butter. Adds a rich flavor to the filling.
- Eggs. Add moisture, as well as structure, helping the filling puff up slightly as it bakes.
- Sugar. Sweetness, to balance the bitterness of the chocolate.
- Cream. A chess pie is sometimes made with buttermilk for a slightly tangy flavor, although some recipes call for evaporated milk. I used heavy whipping cream, since it’s what I had on hand, although any of these options will work.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Cocoa Powder. Unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder will give this chocolate chess pie a rich chocolate flavor and dark color.
- Flour. Helps to thicken the filling as it bakes. Some recipes might use corn starch or even corn meal instead of flour.
Instructions
Pie Crust
- Prepare 1/2 Recipe Pie Dough, as instructed. Baker’s Note: You can also make the full pie dough recipe for two crusts, and wrap and freeze half the dough for another pie.
- Roll the dough out thinly, into a circle large enough to fit inside your pie pan with the dough hanging over the edges. Fold the edges under to create a thick crust, and crimp the edges.
- Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork, then place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill the crust before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Fit a piece of parchment paper into the chilled crust, and fill the paper with dried beans or pie weights. Make sure the edges of the crust are covered by the paper, too. This process is called “blind baking” so that the crust keeps its shape and doesn’t puff up while it bakes without any filling to weigh it down.
- Bake the crust for 30 minutes. Remove the paper and the dried beans, then return the pan to the oven to bake the crust uncovered for an additional 5-10 minutes, until pale golden brown and mostly baked through.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325 F.
Filling
- While the crust is baking, you can work on the filling. Start by measuring the chocolate chips and butter in a saucepan. Over low heat, slowly heat the chocolate and butter, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth.
- In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, cream and vanilla as hard as you can for 2 minutes. Whisk in the melted chocolate and butter until smooth.
- Sift the cocoa powder and flour over the chocolate mixture, then whisk it in until combined.
- Pour the batter into the pre-baked crust, and cover the edge of the crust with a pie crust shield if it’s already starting to brown.
- Bake the pie for 30 minutes at 325 F, until the filling is slightly puffed and cracked. Set the pie on a cooling rack and cool for several hours before cutting and serving. The filling will settle down and flatten as the pie cools.
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
Keep the leftover pie in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-5 days.
You can use store bought pie dough, and follow the same instructions for pre-baking the crust.
With metal, glass and ceramic pie pans to choose from, it can be difficult to know which is best. I prefer a metal pie pan or tart pan, which conducts heat much better than a ceramic baking dish, resulting in a crisp, never soggy bottom crust. Do not use a glass pan. You’ll be freezing the crust in the pan first, and you cannot put a frozen glass pan into a hot oven, or it could crack.
You Might Also Like
Please check out my Amazon Shop for a curated collection of some of my favorite cake pans from trusted brands, baking tools, ingredients, pretty things and fashion finds. I recommend products that I buy and use every day!
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Chocolate Chess 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.
Equipment
- 9 Inch Deep Dish Pie Pan or Tart Pan
Ingredients
Crust
- ½ recipe All Butter Pie Dough (1 single pie crust)
Filling
- 1 cup (6 oz) semi sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (around 55-65% cacao)
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cream or evaporated milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
Instructions
Pie Crust
- Prepare 1/2 Recipe Pie Dough, as instructed. Baker's Note: You can also make the full pie dough recipe for two crusts, and wrap and freeze half the dough for another pie.
- Roll the dough out thinly, into a circle large enough to fit inside your pie pan with the dough hanging over the edges. Fold the edges under to create a thick crust, and crimp the edges.
- Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork, then place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill the crust before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Fit a piece of parchment paper into the chilled crust, and fill the paper with dried beans or pie weights. Make sure the edges of the crust are covered by the paper, too. This process is called "blind baking" so that the crust keeps its shape and doesn't puff up while it bakes without any filling to weigh it down.
- Bake the crust for 30 minutes. Remove the paper and the dried beans, then return the pan to the oven to bake the crust uncovered for an additional 5-10 minutes, until pale golden brown and mostly baked through.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325 F.
Filling
- While the crust is baking, you can work on the filling. Start by measuring the chocolate chips and butter in a saucepan. Over low heat, slowly heat the chocolate and butter, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth.
- In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, cream and vanilla as hard as you can for 2 minutes. Whisk in the melted chocolate and butter until smooth.
- Sift the cocoa powder and flour over the chocolate mixture, then whisk it in until combined.
- Pour the batter into the pre-baked crust, and cover the edge of the crust with a pie crust shield if it's already starting to brown.
- Bake the pie for 30 minutes at 325 F, until the filling is slightly puffed and cracked. Set the pie on a cooling rack and cool for several hours before cutting and serving. The filling will settle down and flatten as the pie cools.
Leave a Reply