Silky Deep Dish Chocolate Cream Pie from Scratch

Deep Dish Chocolate Cream Pie pairs a dense stovetop custard with a dark baked cookie shell and a layer of light cream. Cooking the starch on the stove builds a structure that slices cleanly straight from the refrigerator. You need at least 14 hours from start to finish to chill the pie properly.

The Chocolate Cookie Crust

You will need a custom parchment circle later to ensure a skin cannot form on top of the hot Chocolate Custard Filling. Take a sheet of baking paper and fold it repeatedly until you have a thin triangle. Snip off the wide end to yield a perfectly round cover tailored to your dish, and set this piece aside.

Exactly 8.5 oz (244 g) of standard chocolate sandwich cookies, or about twenty-five whole cookies with the filling left intact, will give you the correct volume for the crust. Snap the cookies into pieces and process them for about ten seconds until they break down completely. You can substitute plain chocolate biscuits in place of the cream-filled cookies, though this will result in a slightly lighter colored crust.

Stir the melted butter into the crumbs.

Press the mixture tightly across the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch (23 cm) pie pan.

Bake the shell at 350°F (180°C) for 10 minutes. The base will appear slightly puffed when you pull it from the oven. Immediately press down on the warm crumbs with a rubber spatula to compact them, which creates a rigid and crunchy foundation. Leave the pan to cool completely before making the filling.

The Chocolate Custard Filling

Egg yolks thicken the liquid and provide a smooth texture. Heavy cream makes the custard heavier than a traditional milk base. You can replace the heavy cream with an equal amount of milk, though it requires slightly more time to thicken on the stove. Whisk the dry ingredients and liquids together in a saucepan before turning on the heat.

Cook the mixture over medium-high heat until it steams, then lower the heat. Watch for sluggish bubbles to breach the surface. You must whisk the liquid vigorously off the heat to smooth out any lumps that form during cooking.

A blend of seventy percent dark chocolate and milk chocolate balances flavor intensity with sweetness. You can use entirely dark chocolate or entirely milk chocolate. Chocolate sold in the baking aisle melts more reliably than chocolate formulated for eating directly. Chocolate chips or melting wafers also work well here. Drop the butter and chopped chocolate into the hot liquid.

Stir the hot filling until the chocolate melts and the texture is completely smooth. If any lumps survive, push the mixture through a sieve. Pour the hot liquid into the cooled pie shell.

Assembly and Topping

Drop your tailored parchment paper round right onto the hot mixture, smoothing it flat to stop a dry crust from developing. Never substitute plastic wrap for this step. Laying cling film over the warm dessert will rip away a substantial slab of your set filling when you pull it off.

Give the pie 2 hours at room temperature to cool, then refrigerate it for at least 12 hours. If you slice the pie before it chills for a full twelve hours, the custard structure will break permanently. Any excess custard that does not fit into the pie shell can chill in individual ramekins.

The Whipped Cream Topping and Garnish

Whipping cream requires a sufficient fat content to aerate properly. Whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form. Spoon the Whipped Cream Topping over the set pie. You can finish the dessert with grated chocolate as a Garnish.

Slice and serve the pie directly from the baking tin to prevent the crust from breaking.

Storage

The assembled pie keeps in the refrigerator for about three days before the crust begins to soften. You can stabilize the cream to prevent deflating for up to three days by whipping one hundred grams of mascarpone into it.