Indulge in the ultimate chocolate lover’s dream with this irresistible Chocolate Cream Pie! With a smooth, creamy filling and a buttery, flaky crust, this dessert strikes the perfect balance between rich decadence and delightful simplicity. Topped with a cloud of fresh whipped cream and delicate chocolate shavings, every bite is a luxurious experience.
Homemade Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe
This is technically a no-bake recipe if you use a prepared pie crust. It has a stovetop chocolate filling but it will be chilled in the refrigerator before serving. It’s incredibly rich and bursting with chocolate flavor without being overly sweet. Make this pie for special occasions or as an easy dessert after Sunday dinner. The texture is silky smooth and almost like a thick custard. I promise this showstopping dessert will impress anyone you make it for — even kids!
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Cream Pie
- Quick and easy to prepare. This is a simple cooked chocolate filling added to a prepared pie crust.
- Great for making ahead. You may make this pie ahead and store it in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Budget-friendly. The ingredients are inexpensive making this the perfect dessert for any size budget.
What You’ll Need
Below are all the components for the filling, toppings, and crust. I use store-bought crust for convenience, but homemade pie crust is yummy, too!
- Pie crust: You may use a store-bought 9-inch crust but I suggest this Homemade Pie Crust. It’s perfectly buttery and flaky without falling apart. Just prepare, bake, and cool the pie pan before you add the filling.
- Sugar: I keep it simple and use white sugar to sweeten the chocolate filling.
- Cornstarch: This is a great way to thicken the mixture without having a flour taste.
- Salt: A pinch of salt helps to enhance the chocolate flavor.
- Egg yolks: The egg yolks help with the structure and texture of the filling.
- Milk: Adding some milk helps to get the correct consistency. I highly recommend whole or 2% milk for this recipe.
- Semi-sweet chocolate: Any semi-sweet melting chocolate is great. I use a bar and chop it into smaller pieces, but chocolate chips can be used. Dark chocolate also works well here.
- Butter: This adds a glossy finish as well as fat to help the pudding set properly in the refrigerator.
- Vanilla: I add vanilla extract with the butter to balance the flavors of the pie.
- Whipped cream: This is optional, but I like to finish the pie with a layer of Homemade Whipped Cream and chocolate shavings to make it pretty.
How to Make Chocolate Cream Pie
Here are the instructions on how to make this rich and delicious chocolate cream pie recipe. Once you cook the filling, you only have to wait for it to chill and set. Then, it’s time to enjoy a slice!
- Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Add the cornstarch, sugar, salt, egg yolks, and milk to a medium saucepan and whisk until well combined.
- Add the chocolate. Stir in the chopped chocolate while the heat is still off.
- Heat and cook the pudding. Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook the pudding until it is thick and bubbling.
- Strain and add butter. Pour it through a fine mesh strainer and use a rubber spatula to push it through to remove any lumps. Then, stir in the butter and vanilla. Continue to mix until the melted butter is fully blended into the chocolate pudding filling.
- Add to the crust and chill. Transfer the mixture to the pie crust and spread it evenly. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and let it cool to room temperature. Then, place it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours to chill.
- Garnish and serve. Once the filling is set, add a layer of whipped cream on top and garnish it with chocolate shavings. Enjoy!
Tips for Success
- Stir the pudding often: Ensure the chocolate pudding mixture is stirred constantly as it cooks on the stove so it doesn’t stick to the bottom or burn.
- Add more garnishes: In addition to chocolate curls, a drizzle of caramel or fresh berries will give you a showstopping presentation.
- Bake the crust: When purchasing a prepared crust, ensure it has been blind-baked using pie weights. This is not only for health and safety, but it can also prevent it from becoming soggy.
- Swap Crusts: Try this chocolate pie with and Oreo Cookie crust or graham cracker crust.
Proper Storage
If stored correctly in an airtight container, this chocolate pie can last 5-6 days in the fridge and up to 1 month in the freezer.
If you want to bring this pie to a gathering, make sure it is nice and frozen. Then, place it in a cooler as you travel to keep it chilled—especially in the summer when it’s really hot outside.
More Pie Recipes to Try
- Strawberry Lemon Easy Chess Pie
- Lemon Meringue Pie
- Blueberry Cream Pie
- French Silk Pie
- Banana Cream Pie
- Twix Caramel Apple Pie
Chocolate Cream Pie
Ingredients
- 1 Pie Crust Prepared
- ¾ cup sugar granulated
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 Pinch salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 cups milk whole
- 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped (or dark chocolate)
- 4 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups Whipped Cream optional
Instructions
- Whisk together cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Whisk in the egg yolks and milk until fully combined. Add in the chopped chocolate.
- Turn on the heat to medium and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, using a spatula, and scraping up any thickened pudding on the edges of the pan.
- Cook until the pudding has completely thickened and large bubbles are forming and popping, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately pour through a mesh strainer into a bowl, using a spatula to push all the pudding out so it’s extra smooth.
- Whisk in the butter and the extract until combined and fluffy. Pour the pudding into the prepared pie crust and smooth it over the top. Let cool at room temperature before chilling in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Scoop whipped cream on top of the pie. Using a spatula, spread the cream evenly over the top of the pie. Garnish with additional pieces of chopped chocolate.Keep chilled until ready to serve.
Last Step:
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46 comments on “Chocolate Cream Pie”
I’ve made this pie for the third time today and it comes out perfect. I don’t even strain the filling it is so smooth. It’s my new go to pie!
Yay! Thank you Wendy!
For the Nutritional Information of 687 calories; is that for the whole pie? Or, is per serving and how many servings is that supposed to yield?
Hi William. The nutritional information is per serving. The serving are noted at the top of the recipe card. The calories for this recipe are based on 6 slices per pie. If you divided the pie into 12 smaller slices, the calories would be half, etc.
Best chocolate cream pie I have ever made. Easiest too! The filling was rich and creamy. This one is going in my recipe book!
Glad to hear that Marisa! Thank you!
This was so easy and so delicious. Doubled the recipes and poured it over graham cracker crumb crust in a 9×13 inch pan. I placed plastic wrap on top so it didn’t create a thick layer of pudding. Topped with whipped cream with a little icing sugar and vanilla extract. Served 25 people easily
Thank you Wendy!
Perfectly delicious
Thanks Robyn!
I have made your pie at Christmas and it was a big hit. I am making it again but traveling with it. Can I put the whipped cream on just before I serve it? Thinking it might travel easier without the whipped cream.
Hi Robyn. Yes, great idea, you could absolutely do that.
Love your recipe’s
Thank you Billie!
Nice
Do you start the 8 minute timing after it is thick and starts bubbling? Mine didn’t set. It got very thick, but when it set up, it turned runny. Any suggestions?
Hi Elaine. Sorry you had that problem. It should take about 8 minutes total, not after it starts bubbling. If it turned runny, it may have been overheated or overcooked. Also, don’t covet the pie until it has completely cooled. Hope this helps.
Cay you use cocoa powder??
Hi Mel. The chocolate really makes this pie to me but if you want to try cocoa powder I would use 1/2 cup and up the sugar to 1 1/4 cups. I think that will give you similar results. Let me know how it turns out!
Hi! I decided to make your recipe today. It is very easy to follow, smells amazing and I can’t wait for it to set up! (I only made one mistake, I poured the chocolate into the crust, admiring it, until I looked over and realized I didn’t put in the butter & vanilla lol) No worries, just poured it back in the pan & finished. Looks funny, but I’ll bet it’s delicious Thanks
Thanks Kathy! Hope you enjoy it.
I Added an extra teaspoon of cornstarch and it turned out perfect. Will have it tomorrow after Christmas dinner!
I made a double batch for Thanksgiving. I’m hoping the chocolate filling firms up some more. It’s room temp and still very pudding like. It tastes delicious!
Perfect for dessert dish topped with whipped cream, perfect for chocolate pie (not overwelmingly heavy) and perfect for tea party mini tarts.
Woohoo… I learned how to make pudding from scratch. I added an additional tablespoon of corn starch. I put it in a walnut crust. I had enough to have an extra bowl of too, therefore I Don’t even have to wait for Thanksgiving to try it.
Sounds great Erica!
Can this be frozen?
Hi Mary. Yes this chocolate pie will freeze well. Cover with plastic wrap and foil and just thaw before serving.
I’d love to try this. But what kind of chocolate bar are you using? Is it Ike a Hershey’s bar? Or like a bakers chocolate bar? Thanks!
Hi Leanne. It’s best to use a chocolate baking bar either semi-sweet or dark chocolate, whichever you prefer.
Could you use splenda instead of the granulated sugar for this?
Yes, you could use Splenda in the same amount and I think it would work fine with this recipe. Let me know how it turns out!
Did Splenda work in this recipe?
fantastic pie!!!!
So easy and so yummy!!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, my husband was requesting a chocolate pie this weekend and I came across yours on Pinterest and I made mine in chocolate cookie crumb crust and it looks delicious. Now we have to be patient for it to chill.