Rich, decadent and delicious, this baked chocolate pie is the perfect dessert for chocolate lovers. Start with a prebaked pie crust, pair it with a chocolate filling that is incredibly easy to prepare and bake everything together. And for a festive feel, decorate it with Chantilly cream.
Ingredients
- Baked pie crust: You’ll need a 9 inch pie crust. It’s best to bake the pie just before you plan on filling it. Once you take it out of the oven, you can set it aside to cool down slightly while you prepare the filling. I found that the crust had the best texture (crisp, not soggy) when the filling and crust were both slightly warm. Pouring warm filling over a one day old pie crust yielded a slightly soggy crust.
- Liquid: We’ll be using a combination of heavy cream and milk for a rich filling.
- Eggs: The egg proteins will coagulate in the oven and thicken the filling as it bakes. If you don’t add enough egg, the filling won’t set properly. If you add too much on the other hand, the filling might taste eggy and won’t be as creamy.
- Dark chocolate: Use chocolate you really enjoy as it is the predominant flavor. Just make sure it contains enough cocoa butter (at least 65%) to set the filling. If you prefer a filling that is very sweet, it’s best to add more powdered sugar (which will also thicken the filling) rather than use a sweet chocolate (which will make the filling runnier).
- Powdered sugar: To sweeten the filling but also to thicken it.
- Flavorings: My homemade pie crust already contains salt so I don’t add any to the filling. But if you are using a different pie crust without salt, feel free to add a pinch in the filling.
Success Tips
The filling is really easy to prepare. But there are a few things to watch out for to get the best results possible:
- Use a mealy pie dough: When making the pie dough, make sure most of the flour is coated with butter. The mixture should look like coarse meal with small pea-sized chunks of butter. An extra flaky dough will absorb too much moisture and become soggy quickly.
- Blind bake the pie crust: Bake the crust fully then let it cool down slightly before pouring in the filling.
- Seal the crust: Apply a layer of egg wash 5 minutes before the end of the blind baking period. You want to seal any holes through which the filling could seep in.
- Mix the filling gently: We want to avoid incorporating air bubbles which would ruin the texture of the filling. Use a wooden spoon (or spatula) instead of a whisk and strain the filling.
- Don’t overbake the chocolate pie: The pie is ready when the edges are set but it is still wobbly in the center. Don’t wait for it to look completely firm in the oven. It will continue to set after you take it out of the oven from carryover cooking and will firm up even more once chilled.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preparing the filling
- Heat together the heavy cream, milk and powdered sugar until simmering, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon (or a heatproof spatula) to dissolve the sugar. Tip: Avoid using a whisk so you don’t incorporate too much air.
- Meanwhile, place the chocolate in a large microwavable bowl. Heat in short increments (20-30 seconds), stirring in-between until melted.
- Pour a small amount of the hot liquids (about 1/5) over the melted chocolate. Stir with a spoon in small circles from the center until fully combined.
- Gradually pour the remaining liquid in 4-5 additions, stirring every time to combine. Tip: Don’t pour the liquid too quickly or you’ll end up with a lumpy mixture.
- Set aside for a few minutes to cool down slightly (to avoid cooking the eggs). Add the beaten eggs in two additions, stirring just until smooth. Tip: Briefly use a whisk at the end (if needed) to make sure the eggs are fully incorporated.
- Optional (but recommended): Strain through a fine-mesh sieve placed over a measuring cup to ensure your mixture is completely smooth and get rid of air bubbles. Press down any chocolate or egg remaining on the sieve with a spoon.
Pictured below (right): The liquid was added too quickly to the melted chocolate and the resulting mixture isn’t smooth at all. You can use a fine-mesh sieve to fix this.
Baking the chocolate pie
- Carefully pour into the fully baked, warm pie crust. If desired, skim any foam or air bubbles from the surface with a spoon. Tip: When pouring the filling into the crust pass it through a fine mesh sieve once more to get rid of air bubbles. Don’t pour from a distance so it doesn’t splash and form air bubbles.
- Bake in the middle of a preheated oven just until the edges are set but the center is jiggly (not liquid). A digital thermometer inserted into the center (without touching the bottom) should register between 76-79°C (170-175°F). If you notice a lot of bubbles suddenly forming on the surface, it’s probably getting too hot and won’t be as creamy. Note: If you notice that the edges of the pie are browning too much, cover them with a pie shield or strips of aluminum foil.
- Cool completely on a wire rack (in the pie dish) at room temperature (about 1 hour). Cover and chill until firm enough to slice (about 4 hours).
Decorate with Chantilly cream if desired and enjoy!
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Baked Chocolate Pie
Rich, decadent and delicious, this baked chocolate pie is the perfect dessert for chocolate lovers. Start with a prebaked pie crust, pair it with a chocolate filling that is incredibly easy to prepare and bake everything together. And for a festive feel, decorate it with Chantilly cream.
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy
Yield
9
inch piePrep time
20
minutesCooking time
40
minutesChill time
5
hoursIngredients
1 9-inch fully baked pie crust (ideally freshly baked, see notes)
360 g heavy cream (35% fat) (12.7 oz., 1 and 1/2 cups)
120 g whole milk (4.2 oz.,1/2 cup)
150 g powdered (icing) sugar (5.3 oz., about 1 and 1/3 cups)
200 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), coarsely chopped (7.1 oz.)
2 large eggs beaten with a fork, at room temperature (100 g/3.5 oz.)
- For the decoration (optional)
120 g heavy cream (35% fat), cold (4.2 oz.,1/2 cup)
15 g powdered (icing) sugar, or to taste (0.53 oz., 2 Tablespoons)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F, conventional setting).
- Heat together the heavy cream, milk and powdered sugar until simmering, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon (or a heatproof spatula) to dissolve the sugar. Tip: Avoid using a whisk so you don’t incorporate too much air.
- Meanwhile, place the chocolate in a large microwavable bowl. Heat in short increments (20-30 seconds), stirring in-between until melted.
- Pour a small amount of the hot liquids (about 1/5) over the melted chocolate. Stir with a spoon in small circles from the center until fully combined.
- Gradually pour the remaining liquid in 4-5 additions, stirring every time to combine. Tip: Don’t pour the liquid too quickly or you’ll end up with a lumpy mixture.
- Set aside for a few minutes to cool down slightly (to avoid cooking the eggs). Add the beaten eggs in two additions, stirring just until smooth. Tip: Briefly use a whisk at the end (if needed) to make sure the eggs are fully incorporated.
- Optional (but recommended): Strain through a fine-mesh sieve placed over a measuring cup to ensure your mixture is completely smooth and get rid of air bubbles. Press down any chocolate or egg remaining on the sieve with a spoon.
- Carefully pour into the fully baked, warm pie crust. If desired, skim any foam or air bubbles from the surface with a spoon. Tip: When pouring the filling into the crust pass it through a fine mesh sieve once more to get rid of air bubbles. Don’t pour from a distance so it doesn’t splash and form air bubbles.
- Bake in the middle of the oven just until the edges are set but the center is jiggly (not liquid), about 40-45 minutes. A digital thermometer inserted into the center (without touching the bottom) should register between 76-79°C (170-175°F). Tip: Don’t worry if the filling looks soft at this point. It will continue to set after you take it out of the oven from carryover cooking and will firm up even more once chilled. Note: If you notice that the edges of the pie are browning too much, cover them with a pie shield or strips of aluminum foil.
- Cool completely on a wire rack (in the pie dish) at room temperature (about 1 hour). Cover and chill until firm enough to slice (about 4 hours). Note: If you notice any condensation on the surface of the chilled pie, you can pat it dry with a paper towel.
- If decorating with Chantilly cream: Whip the cold heavy cream to soft peaks (that fall back) then add the powdered sugar. Keep whipping until stiff peaks form. Fill a piping bag fitted with desired tip and decorate the chocolate pie. Enjoy!
Notes
- Yield: This recipe will yield 750 ml (about 3 cups) of chocolate filling which is enough for one 9 inch crust.
- Make-ahead tips: This pie is best enjoyed on the day it’s baked but can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Pie crust: I like to use a fully baked pie crust to ensure it doesn’t get soggy when baked with the filling. You can find all the instructions to make pie dough and blind bake the crust in this pie crust tutorial. When making the crust: 1) It’s best to use a mealy pie dough where most of the flour is coated with butter. The mixture should look like coarse meal with small pea-sized chunks of butter. An extra flaky dough will absorb too much moisture and become soggy quickly. 2) Don’t prick the dough all the way through when blind baking. 3) Seal the crust by brushing with a beaten egg (or an egg mixed with a teaspoon of milk, cream or water) 5 minutes before the end of the blind baking period (step 20 in the pie crust recipe). 4) If possible, use a freshly baked pie crust that is still crisp and slightly warm when you pour in the filling.
- Dark chocolate: Use chocolate you really enjoy as it is the predominant flavor. Just make sure it contains enough cocoa butter (at least 65%) to set the custard. If you prefer a filling that is very sweet, it’s best to add more powdered sugar (which will also thicken the filling) rather than use a sweet chocolate (which will make the filling runnier).
- Salt: My homemade pie crust already contains salt so I don’t add any to the filling. But if you are using a different pie crust without salt, feel free to add a pinch in the filling.
- Baking the pie: If the filling isn’t baked long enough, it won’t set properly. If you notice a lot of bubbles suddenly forming on the surface on the other hand, it’s probably getting too hot and won’t be as creamy.
- Chantilly cream: This amount is enough if you just want to decorate the pie like I did for the pictures. If you want to cover it, make a double portion (with 1 cup heavy cream, 4 Tablespoons sugar).
- Pie dish: I use a 9 inch pan with a height of 4 cm (1 and 1/2 inches).