Chocolate Pudding Pie

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chocolate-pudding-pie-gourmet

• Active Time

  30 minutes

• Total Time

  5 hours (includes chilling)

Former Gourmet food editor Melissa Roberts created this easy chocolate pudding pie recipe in 2010 as an homage to one her mother used to make. So many years later, it remains a firm favorite of the Epi staff and our readers. It starts with a flaky homemade crust that combines the powers of both butter and shortening. (If you prefer all butter, swap in Our Favorite Pie Crust.) The pie filling is a luscious but straightforward homemade chocolate pudding. Its rich, dark chocolate flavor comes from combining unsweetened cocoa powder with a bar of finely chopped bittersweet chocolate (semisweet works too). Avoid chocolate chips, which have emulsifiers that can turn the pudding stodgy. Since the filling is thickened with cornstarch, the dessert easily goes gluten-free (here’s our favorite gluten-free pie shell).

Of course, no silky, creamy chocolate pudding pie recipe would be complete without a whipped topping. When you’re ready to serve, make lightly sweetened homemade whipped cream to mound on top of the pie. Whip just until the cream reaches billowy soft peaks, which have a creamier mouthfeel than firm ones.

Just like Roberts, you should feel free to make this pie your own: Swap in a graham cracker crust and marshmallow whipped cream to make a s’mores pie, or an Oreo cookie crust and chocolate whipped cream to make a triple-chocolate pie. Gild the pie with fresh raspberries in spring or tart clementine wedges in winter. Or taste a slice next to our favorite Chocolate Cream Pie and try to decide which one you like best.

Ingredients

8 servings

Pastry

1¼ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for surface

6 Tbsp. (¾ stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½” cubes

2 Tbsp. cold vegetable shortening

¼ tsp. kosher salt

Pie filling

¼ cup (28 g) cornstarch

⅓ cup (67 g) plus 2 Tbsp. sugar, divided

3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ tsp. kosher salt

3 cups whole milk

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate (not more than 60% cacao), finely chopped

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

 

************************************

 Topping

 

1 cup chilled heavy cream

Bittersweet chocolate shavings for garnish (optional)

Special Equipment: Pie weights or dried beans

1. Pastry

   Step 1

   Blend 1¼ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour, 6 Tbsp. (¾ stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½” cubes, 2 Tbsp. cold vegetable shortening, and ¼ tsp. kosher salt in a medium bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Drizzle 2 Tbsp. ice-cold water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.

   Step 2

   Squeeze a small handful of pie dough: If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, stirring until incorporated. (Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.)

   Step 3

   Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all of dough together, with a pastry scraper if you have one, and form into a 5-inch disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

   Step 4

   Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into an 11-inch round, then fit into a 9” pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a ½” overhang, then fold overhang under and crimp edge decoratively. Prick bottom and side of shell all over with a fork, then chill shell 30 minutes.

   Step 5

   While pie shell chills, preheat oven to 375°F with a baking sheet on middle rack.

   Step 6

   Line shell with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Transfer pie pan to hot baking sheet and bake until pastry is set and edge is pale golden, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove weights and foil or parchment, then continue to bake on baking sheet until shell is pale golden all over, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool shell.

2. Pie filling and assembly

   Step 7

   Whisk ¼ cup (28 g) cornstarch, ⅓ cup (67 g) sugar, 3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder, and ¼ tsp. kosher salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk in 3 cups whole milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking, 2 minutes (mixture will thicken). Remove from heat and whisk in 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate (not more than 60% cacao), finely chopped, and 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract until smooth.

   Step 8

   Pour warm chocolate pudding filling into cooled shell and refrigerate, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 2 hours.

   Step 9

   Just before serving, beat 1 cup chilled heavy cream with remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar until it just holds soft peaks. Spoon onto pie.

   Do ahead: Pastry dough can be chilled up to 2 days. Pie shell can be baked 1 day ahead; cool, then wrap loosely and store at room temperature. Pie (without whipped cream) can be chilled up to 1 day ahead.