The details

When I was little I was allergic to eggs (thankfully I grew out of this allergy) so for every special occasion, my mom brought along a pudding cup for me. Everyone else ate birthday cake, I ate chocolate pudding. And that’s where my chocolate pudding obsession began. So much so, that it made its way onto our Thanksgiving table. Soon, pudding pie became a staple at Thanksgiving and my cousins and I would just devour it every year! This dark chocolate pudding pie is my from-scratch take on the classic Jello pudding pie, but with high quality ingredients and no gelatin involved. This pie contains a deliciously rich and slightly salty chocolate cookie crumb crust, deeply flavored dark chocolate pudding layer, chocolate mousse layer, and finally fresh vanilla whipped cream. It’s rich, creamy, and utterly delicious!

The process

Make your cookie crust: This happens by baking a chocolate crumb, then pulsing it in a food processor until smooth. Then, press this into your pie dish and allow to cool.
Make your chocolate pudding: This happens stovetop, then you spread half in your cooled crust to set in the fridge. The other half will stay chilled in an airtight container, to later be folded with whipped cream.
Make your whipped cream: In a stand mixer bowl (or with a hand mixer), whip heavy cream with sugar and vanilla to stiff peaks. Fold half in with the remaining pudding for the mousse layer and spread into your pie. The other half of whipped cream tops the pie.
Garnish with chocolate shavings and store in the fridge until ready to enjoy!

Ingredient Notes

For me, the key to making any chocolate dessert delicious is using HIGH QUALITY cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Here, I used Valrhona unsweetened cocoa powder and Guittard 72% chocolate baking disks to make the pudding and cookie crust. Not sponsored. They’re just really good. Valhrona is the absolute best cocoa powder and is the only thing I use in my baked goods. For the chocolate, any decent brand of dark chocolate (60% cocoa minimum) will work in the pudding. The higher percentage cocoa, the deeper chocolate flavor you will get. The result is amazingly delicious!

Also for your Thanksgiving table

Credit where credit’s due

This chocolate cookie crust is adapted from the “Chocolate Crumb Crust” from Christina Tosi’s book Momofuku Milk Bar: A Cookbook. An amazing cookbook so many recipes and tips to inspire.

This dark chocolate pudding recipe is adapted from Samantha Skaggs’ recipe for “The Best Homemade Chocolate Pudding”.

Dark Chocolate Pudding Pie

Print Recipe

This Dark Chocolate Pudding Pie is sure to please all the chocolate lovers at your table! Layers of chocolate cookie crust, dark chocolate pudding, chocolate mousse, and fresh whipped cream, yum.

Yield: 8 servings 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the chocolate cookie crust:

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetend cocoa powder
3/4 tsp cornstarch
1/3 cup + 3 tsp granulated sugar, divided
3/4 tsp kosher salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted & divided

For the dark chocolate pudding:

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups whole milk, divided
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 tsp cornstarch
3 egg yolk
2 oz dark chocolate, melted
1 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
1 tsp vanilla

For the whipped cream:

2 cups heavy cream
4 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
chocolate shavings for topping

Instructions

Make your chocolate cookie crust. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, 1/3 c sugar, and salt. Pour in 5 tbsp melted butter and using a spatula, combine until wet crumbles form. Turn out the crumbles onto a lined baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes, stirring and breaking up clusters halfway through. Allow crumbles to cool completely.
In a food processer, add cookie crumbles, 3 tsp sugar, and 1 tbsp melted butter. Pulse until the mixture becomes a wet sand consistency. Turn out the chocolate sand mixture into your tart or pie dish, and press it into an even pie crust. I like to use a square parchment paper to press, to reduce sticking and keep my hands from getting too messy.
Set pie crust aside to cool completely. You can stick it in the fridge or freezer to expedite if you wish.
Make your dark chocolate pudding. In a large saucepan, add sifted cocoa powder, granulated sugar, and whole milk. Whisk until completely combined. Set the saucepan over medium-high heat and heat until the mixture begins to simmer.
In a separate medium bowl, combine egg yolks, cornstarch, and salt, whisking to combine. Slowly add hot chocolate milk mixture to this egg yolk mixture, whisking vigorously throughout. Once combined, pour the whole thing back into the saucepan.
Heat pudding mixture in the saucepan over medium-high heart whisking constantly. Once the mixture thickens and bubbles, continue heating and whisking for 1 minute then remove from heat. Add melted chocolate, butter, and vanilla and whisk until combined and very smooth. Transfer hot pudding to a heatproof container and allow to cool 5-10 minutes until warm, not hot.
Transfer half of your dark chocolate pudding into your cooled pie crust for the bottom layer. Cover the whole thing in plastic wrap (with the plastic wrap touching the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming) and chill for at least several hours or overnight. Cover remaining pudding and chill in the fridge in its airtight container.
Make your fresh whipped cream. Pour cold heavy cream into your mixing bowl, and using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, begin beating on medium-high. Add sugar and vanilla and continue to whisk until the cream thickens and forms stiff peaks.
Remove your remaining pudding from the fridge and mix to smooth it out. Add half your whipped cream to your remaining pudding, folding gently with a spatula to combine. Spread this mousse mixture on top of your pudding pie layer.
Spread the remaining fresh whipped cream as the top layer of your pudding pie. Refridgerate immediately. Garnish with chocolate shavings if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

The chocolate cookie crust recipe is adapted from Christina Tosi’s Momofuku Milk Bar: A Cookbook.
The dark chocolate pudding recipe is adapted from Five Heart Home’s “The Best Homemade Chocolate Pudding”.
This pie can be stored in the fridge and is best within a few days of assembling. Pudding can be stored alone for up to 3 days before using in the pie, in an airtight container in the fridge. This pie freezes relatively well and can be brought back to chilled temp in the fridge.

Author: Caroline Crockett
Category: desserts, pie