This silky, crunchy chocolate pecan pie recipe comes from pastry chef Liana Sinclair, who created the recipe for Supperland in Charlotte, North Carolina—one of our 10 Best New Restaurants of 2022. Sinclair often finds traditional versions of the classic Southern holiday dessert a tad sweet so keeps her rendition in check by lacing the savory and bitter notes of dark chocolate throughout the pie. First, she adds Dutch-style unsweetened cocoa powder to the flaky, buttery pie shell. Next, she layers a handful of semisweet chocolate wafers into the unbaked pie crust before tossing in the pecan halves and pouring a brown-sugar pie filling over the lot. Don’t be tempted to swap in dark chocolate chips, which often contain emulsifiers so they retain their shape; wafers, on the other hand, will melt into deep, rich pools of chocolate that envelop the nuts.
Sinclair gilds her baked pie with a Chantilly cream (which is just a fancy word for sweetened whipped cream), except that hers is enriched with melted milk chocolate, mascarpone cheese, and a splash of bourbon. (Yes, this pie has a chocolate crust, chocolate filling, and chocolate whipped cream topping.) Feel free to swap out the spirit for hazelnut liqueur or spiced rum—or, for a booze-free version, use 2 tsp. vanilla extract. If you’re short on time, a scoop of store-bought vanilla ice cream is a good alternative.
While Supperland serves individually portioned pies like the one in the photo, we’ve adapted the recipe for a 9" pie pan. Set the pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet to prevent bubbling drips from scorching on the bottom of your oven. Bonus: This makes moving the pie to and from the oven so much easier.
Classic pecan pie? You’ve got some competition.
On the hunt for holiday desserts? Check out our all-time favorite Thanksgiving recipes.
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What you’ll need
Stand Mixer
$330 $250 At Amazon
Scale
$26 At Amazon
9"-Diameter Deep Pie Dish
$22 At Amazon
Rolling Pin
$13 At Amazon
Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls
$26 At Amazon
Small Saucepan
$155 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour 35 minutes plus cooling
Yield
8 servings
Ingredients
Dough
½
3
1
2¾
1
2
Filling and assembly
4
¾
½
¼
½
1½
½
2
½
¼
4
8
Preparation
Dough
Step 1
Mix ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 3 Tbsp. Dutch-process cocoa powder, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 2¾ cups (344 g) all-purpose flour in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on low speed to combine. Add 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1" pieces, and cover bowl with a shield or kitchen towel (this will keep the flour from flying out); beat until mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining, about 1 minute. Uncover bowl and add 2 large egg yolks; beat just until combined.
Step 2
With motor running, drizzle in 2½ Tbsp. ice water and mix until incorporated. Dough should just hold together when squeezed in your hand but still be crumbly. If needed, add more water 1 tsp. at a time, turning on mixer in bursts to combine, until you get there (you want to be careful not to overwork). Turn dough out onto a work surface and pat into a 6"-diameter disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 20 minutes and up to 2 days.
Step 3
Roll out disk of dough on a lightly floured surface to about a 14"-diameter round. Carefully wrap around rolling pin and unfurl into a 9"-diameter pie dish. Gently lift up dough so it slumps down into edges of dish. Trim overhang and crimp edges as desired. Chill crust 15 minutes.
Do ahead: Pie crust can be made up to 2 days ahead of time; keep chilled. Crust can be shaped into pie pan up to 1 day ahead; if chilling for longer than 15 minutes, keep covered with plastic wrap.
Filling and assembly
Step 4
While pie crust is chilling, preheat oven to 350°. Whisk 4 large eggs, room temperature, ¾ cup light corn syrup, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) dark brown sugar, ½ tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a medium-large bowl until smooth.
Step 5
Remove pie crust from fridge and evenly arrange ½ cup semisweet chocolate wafers (disks, pistoles, fèves) or chips over, then scatter 2 cups raw pecan halves evenly on top. Pour egg mixture into crust.
Step 6
Bake pie until edges of filling are set and slightly puffed but center is still sunken and wobbles slightly when pie is gently shaken, about 1 hour (it will set more as it cools). Transfer pan to a wire rack and let pie cool, at least 2 hours.
Step 7
Meanwhile, place ½ cup milk chocolate wafers (disks, pistoles, fèves) or chips in a medium bowl. Bring ¼ cup heavy cream and remaining ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt to a boil in a small saucepan; immediately remove from heat. Pour hot cream over chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk in 4 tsp. bourbon. Cover milk chocolate mixture and chill until ready to use.
Step 8
Just before serving, scrape milk chocolate mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add 8 oz. mascarpone and beat until soft peaks form. Spoon Chantilly cream on top of pie and cut into slices.
Do ahead: Pie can be baked 2 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature. Top with Chantilly cream just before serving.
Editor’s note: This chocolate pecan pie recipe was first printed in our October 2022 issue as ‘Chocolate Pecan Pie With Chantilly Cream.’ Head this way for more of our best Thanksgiving pies →
Leave a Review
Reviews (4)
Back to TopOMG this pie was rediculously deliscious. I made it for a very discerning foodie crowd on Thanksgiving. I would have been happy to just eat the topping, which I want to try freezing and putting on many other things. This desert was a smash hit and was immediately put on the menu for next year.
Deborah Miller
Westchester, NY
12/18/2023
Does anyone know why it calls for raw pecans vs roasted like most other recipes? Would the roasted ones burn?
AW
Fairfax, CA
11/21/2023
OMG so rich, decadent, and delicious! The crust triggered my "piecrust-making" anxiety, as the recipe made enough dough for at least two 9" pies and I thought I had goofed. It turned out great and was very easy to roll out and crimp. I used what I needed of the dough and put the remainder in the freezer. I also used Ghirardelli melting chips in both the pie and Chantilly cream and added 4 T of bourbon to the cream instead of teaspoons. Boozy but yummy! Totally recommend this pie! Like most pies, it tasted better the next day, so consider making a day in advance. Enjoy!
Dan Stark
Seaside, OR
11/17/2022
I doubled this recipe to make two pies but I probably could have just made a single batch of the crust because it made so much! I could have 3.5 pies I think with this much crust. And I should have started checking them earlier than an hour, my bad, because they were overdone at an hour.
Mary
10/9/2022
There is no temperature given to set the oven on to bake the pie. I used 325 as I have a recipe that uses that for pecan pie. It was deliciouss.
Anonymous
9/22/2022