A dazzling chocolate pudding pie cloaked in voluminous whipped cream. The secret to that whipped cream’s great height: Setting it with dissolved gelatin means it won’t deflate or weep when chilled.
Recipe information
Yield
8 servings
Ingredients
Crust
2
2
2⅔
1½
Filling
½
3
2
2
2
2½
1
½
4
Assembly
1
2
2
2
1
Preparation
Crust
Step 1
Whisk sugar, salt, and 2⅔ cups flour in a large bowl. Add butter and, using your fingers, smash each piece into a thin disk. Take your time doing this and don’t feel compelled to break butter into even smaller pieces. Drizzle ⅔ cup ice water over, dispersing it as widely as possible, and mix with a rubber spatula to bring mixture together into a shaggy mass.
Step 2
Turn dough out onto a surface and work together with your hands, pushing and flattening until dough holds together when squeezed in your palm but some streaks of dry flour are still visible. Divide dough into 2 portions.
Step 3
Flatten 1 portion of dough into an 8"-diameter disk. Cut into quarters, stack pieces on top of one another, and flatten dough with a rolling pin to about half of its original height. At this point dough should hold together with no dry spots remaining, and have nice big flakes of butter showing. Use a bench scraper or a large knife to clean any clingy bits of dough from surface. Dust surface with flour, then dust top of dough with flour. Roll out to a ¼"–⅜"-thick round. Wrap dough around rolling pin and transfer to a standard 9"-diameter pie dish. Unfurl into dish, then lift edges and allow dough to slump down into dish. Trim overhang to an even 1" (there will be some excess). Fold overhang under and crimp as desired. Cover and chill until very cold, at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours (cover tightly if chilling longer than 1 hour). Repeat process with remaining dough and another pie dish. Or form into a 1½"-thick disk, wrap in plastic, and chill up to 3 days (or freeze up to 1 month).
Step 4
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat oven to 400°. Lay 2 sheets of parchment paper over dough and fill with pie weights or dried beans (they should fill the dish). Set on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet (this will keep any butter drips from smoking up your oven). Bake until edges are golden brown and bottom is opaque (carefully lift parchment to check), 30–35 minutes. Remove from oven; reduce oven temperature to 300°. Lift out parchment and weights. Bake crust until evenly chestnut brown all over, 10–15 minutes. If baking both crusts, turn oven dial back up to 400° and let oven preheat; repeat with remaining crust.
Filling
Step 5
Whisk sugar, cocoa powder, and cornstarch in a large saucepan to combine. Add eggs and egg yolks and whisk vigorously, making sure to get into corners of pan, until smooth. Whisk in milk, vanilla, and salt.
Step 6
Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, whisking often and making sure to get into corners of pan, 8–10 minutes (mixture should be bubbling and thickened). Reduce heat and continue to simmer, whisking constantly, 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let pudding cool 5 minutes, whisking several revolutions every minute to prevent any skin from forming.
Step 7
Add chocolate to pudding and whisk until melted and fully incorporated. Scrape filling into pie crust; smooth surface. Chill until cold and set, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
Assembly
Step 8
Stir gelatin and 1 Tbsp. water in a small bowl. Let sit until solidified, about 5 minutes. Microwave in 5-second intervals until melted, or set in a bowl of very hot water and let sit until melted.
Step 9
Using an electric mixer, beat cream, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Add melted gelatin and beat until medium peaks form. Spoon whipped cream over filling, swirling as desired. Chill until set, about 1 hour. Dust with cocoa powder if desired.
Do Ahead: Pie can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.
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Reviews (32)
Back to TopI was really excited for this recipe - as most fall pies lately are on a pumpkin / sweet potato kick. But honestly, this recipe stressed me out. I'm no chef or professional baker - but I've made my fair share of pies, and this recipe's crust instructions were pretty hard. I tried the crust instructions twice and failed. My crust came out goopy / sulken / sad in the oven. So I stressfully had to run to the grocery store and buy pre-made crust - but the time it took to de-thaw, run out, and re-bake that crust - the filling got kinda chunkie in the saucepan. Taste tested that and it was very chocolatey and good. I've added it to the pre-made crust, so I'm sure it'll be fine - especially when hidden under whipped cream. Idk what could be said about the crust though, maybe less butter? maybe refrigerate after kneading? I did my best - But I wish the instructions were a little more thorough !
KIM
Brooklyn, NY
11/19/2023
The filling doesn’t set. You can’t cut a slice cleanly. Had to scrape it and turn it into chocolate pudding in ramekins instead.
Sharon
Los Angeles, CA
12/10/2022
Should have read the reviews about the salt! It wasn't bad, being paired with chocolate filling, but more surprising if you're expecting a store bought French Silk pie. Less adventurous eaters will not like it. I think half the salt in the whipped cream would be about right, or skip it all together. If skipping, you may want to add something else somewhere in the recipe to keep it from being too bland
Nate R
Iowa
11/25/2021
I've made this a few times and have enjoyed it, especially after taking note of the minimal salt in the whipped cream. One important note, that I'm not sure I understand in this recipe: the dough makes TWO pie crusts and the filling/whipped cream is for one pie. This is not very explicit in the recipe as you go along, so don't be surprised when you have loads of extra pie dough and not enough filling. Save the extra dough for another pie or double the filling of this one to make two. I have no idea why the serving sizes are so drastically different for one recipe, but wanted to point it out. Also, I now skip the gelatin completely in the whipped cream. The first time I used it, it didn't dissolve fully and there were gross clumps throughout. I just use my standard recipe and top it when ready to serve: 1cup heavy whipping cream and 1 tbsp of sugar. Whip until stiff peaks and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Sam
Cleveland
11/25/2021
Great filling! I was a bit lazy and instead of making a crust I used a Pillsbury Pie Crust and followed the instructions on the box for baking a pie with pudding fillings. The only reason I gave it 4 stars was the salt in the whipped cream. I only used a pinch, but it was still a little much for me. It was fine when you ate the whipped cream with a bit of the chocolate filling. But if you're like me and you like to eat just a spoonful of whipped cream every few bites it was a little much. Just omit the salt in the whipped cream and it would be 5 stars!
Veronika Zwicke
Seattle, WA
9/30/2021
Hi, I made this for Thanksgiving and it was good. I read the reviews on the salt, so just added a little in the pastry and 1/4 tsp in the cream. The chocolate pudding was great, it thickened quite quickly and tasted delicious. I used bittersweet chocolate buttons, high quality chocolate and they melted fast. If you take the tart straight from the fridge and serve, the pastry is rock hard. You need to leave it out of the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving. I will make this again but was not blown away by it.
Sasha Slorer
NYC
11/28/2020
I made this for yesterday’s Thanksgiving dinner. It looked pretty, but unfortunately, the chocolate part was not good. First of all, it didn’t have a real chocolatey taste and lacked flavor. I have to admit that I got salt-scared based on other reviews, so I only added a pinch or two to the filling. Could that have been the problem? Then, the texture was not right. I think the eggs cooked, despite keeping the flame low. The result: grainy, not silky, the way chocolate pudding should be. I’d try it again, but with some adjustments. So disappointing.
SD
New York, NY
11/27/2020