A magnificent Chocolate Cream Pie with a chocolate biscuit base, a creamy smooth chocolate custard filling, topped with clouds of cream. Also known as a chocolate pudding pie, it tastes like a cross between chocolate mousse and Chocolate Bavarian Pie!
Chocolate Cream Pie
As a kid, I’d get so excited on the rare occasion my mother would splurge on a chocolate bavarian pie. I’m talking about the kind sold in the freezer section of supermarkets. Not a fancy patisserie cake made with the beautiful French bavarian cream, crème bavaroise.
I thought it was the best thing ever. Just the right amount of crumbly biscuity base. That chocolatey creamy filling.
And it would still be the best thing ever had I not learnt to cook it myself! While the biscuit base isn’t too different, the chocolate layer is absolutely no comparison. Homemade has real chocolate flavour and a mouthfeel that store-bought never will.
My childhood bavarian pie also evolved with the addition of a generous cloud of whipped cream, which is just heavenly with the chocolate filling, Hence, re-christened as a Chocolate Cream Pie.
I could eat this every day. I predict you will feel the same!
What’s in a Chocolate Cream Pie
This Chocolate Cream Pie is a classic combination with:
chocolate cookie base – made from Oreo cookies which gives it an extra intense chocolate flavour.
chocolate filling – it’s essentially a pudding, a creamy-but-light custard chocolate filling. If you want to get fancy, it is in fact a type of French chocolate custard called crème pâtissière. Fancy it may sound, but it’s actually a surprisingly simple custard that you see contestants in reality cooking shows frantically stressing about making silky smooth and thick, rather than gritty and runny.
I’m sorry, but I don’t get it. It’s not hard to make. Not if you follow the very few simple steps required to make it! You’ll see in the recipe video. 🙂
whipped cream – the pie is topped with a mound of fluffy lightly sweetened vanilla whipped cream.
Dreamy is a word that comes to mind!
Ingredients in Chocolate Cream Pie
1. Chocolate filling ingredients
This custard / pudding is thickened with a combination of cornflour/cornstarch and egg yolks, enriched with butter and cream and flavoured with melted chocolate. It is DIVINE!
Chocolate – I use a combination of 70% cocoa dark chocolate and milk chocolate for my ideal balance of chocolate flavour intensity (70% cocoa) and creamy chocolatey-ness (milk chocolate).
Egg yolks – This helps the custard thicken and set as well as giving it a luxurious mouthfeel that frozen Sara-Lee chocolate bavarian pies can ever compare to!
Also, here is a list of what I do with leftover egg whites.
Cornflour / cornstarch – This is also used to thicken the custard.
Cream and milk – The liquids for the custard. Cream is not typical for custards but it adds richness here! You can just use milk, if you’d prefer.
Butter – This adds yet more richness into the custard.
Sugar for sweetness (this is not overly sweet), vanilla for flavour and a pinch of salt to bring out the flavours (standard sweet baking practice these days).
**Forget Cool Whip** Shortcut recipes for chocolate pie fillings are pretty common on the internet. Some are made with Cool Whip (Australia, we don’t have this and I hope we never do, it’s an artificial thickened “cream” filling), or boxed chocolate pudding powder, marshmallows (too sweet for my taste), or a simple ganache filling (which is very dense and very rich).
For me, I believe that there are some things that should be done right. And if we’re going to make a homemade Chocolate Cream Pie – let’s make the best one we can! I promise it trumps boxed pudding powder. 🙂
2. Oreo Cookie pie base ingredients
I like making Chocolate Cream Pie with an Oreo Cookie pie crust. Made with crushed Oreo cookies, there’s terrific texture contrast with the creamy filling and an extra hit of chocolate. I also like the dark almost-black colour.
Here’s what you need:
Oreo biscuits – I like using Oreo cookies for the texture and flavour, I find they’re more chocolate-y than most other chocolate biscuits. But any plain chocolate biscuits / cookies will work fine here, such as Arnott’s Chocolate Ripples.
Melted butter – This is what makes the Oreo crumbs hold together to form a crust.
vanilla Whipped cream
And here’s what you need for the fluffy mound of whipped cream:
Whipping cream – Make sure you use cream that can be whipped. Not all creams are, some are made for just pouring or dolloping. Read the label to check. And – NO LOW FAT! 🙂
Vanilla for a touch of lovely flavour.
Sugar – Not too much. Just a bit, to lightly sweeten.
How to make Chocolate Cream Pie
This is an almost no-bake recipe. The crust is baked for 10 minutes to make it extra crisp. The custard-pudding filling is cooked on the stove, poured into the crust then refrigerated overnight to set.
1. how to make the pie crust
I use a food processor to blitz the Oreo cookies. It takes seconds!
Blitz – Roughly break up the Oreo cookies by hand and drop into a food processor. Blitz into fine crumbs (~5 – 10 seconds). Add melted butter then blitz briefly just to mix through. The mixture should resemble wet sand.
Press – Pour into a 22.5cm/9″ pie tin. Use your hands / rubber spatula / something flat to press the crumbs firmly into the base and walls.
Bake for 10 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160° fan-forced). This makes the pie crust crisper.
Deflate – The crust puffs up in the oven. Gently deflate using a rubber spatula or similar – the base and walls. This too makes the pie crust crisper and firmer.
2. how to (EASILY) CUT A ROUND FROM PAPER
Before we get into the fun chocolate filling making part, a quick little tip for how to cut a circle from paper. Do this before you start the custard so you can cover the custard as soon as you pour it into the crust. It prevents a skin from forming on the surface which starts pretty quickly.
Baking paper – Tear a sheet of baking paper larger than the pie tine, then fold in half.
Fold in half again.
Then fold into a triangle.
Keep folding to form a long thin triangle.
Measure how large your pie dish is by placing the tip of the triangle above the centre of the pie tin. Cut off the end.
Then unfold. Voila! Neat circle that covers your pie!
3. how to make the chocolate filling
The chocolate filling ingredients are simply whisked on the stove which thickens into a custard as it heats up. The custard is pourable when hot, then sets so it’s cuttable once refrigerated.
Whisk dry – Place cornflour, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk to combine.
Add liquids – Add milk, cream and yolks. Whisk to combine. Then whisk every now and then over medium high heat (or medium for strong gas stoves) as the mixture is heating up. Once the liquid is hot (around 3 – 5 minutes, you’ll see steam), turn the stove down to medium low and start to whisk constantly to ensure the base doesn’t catch. You will feel and see the mixture starting to thicken into a custard.
45 second whisk to finish – When the mixture starts bubbling (around 4 minutes), whisk constantly for 45 seconds then take it off the stove. To see the bubbles, you will need to pause whisking. They will be slow, lazy bubbles! See video at 1:49 here.
Lumps? Don’t fret! Take it off the stove and whisk vigorously, you should be able to whisk them out. Once smooth, return to the stove and continue. As a last resort, you can strain the custard at step 5.
Melt in chocolate – Remove off the stove. Add butter, chocolate and vanilla and whisk until the chocolate melts and the filling is smooth.
Thickness – The custard should have a thickness like honey. It will be pourable, but won’t mound.
Pour the custard straight into the pie crust.
Smooth the surface.
4. Setting and decorating
Cover – Immediately cover with a round piece of baking/parchment paper, pressing lightly so it is in contact with the surface. This will prevent a skin from forming. (Don’t use cling wrap, you’ll peel a thick layer of custard off which I know you’re thinking well then I get to lick it all off! But the reality is it’s actually quite difficult to do off cling wrap. Yes, I know from first hand experience. Stick with paper!!)
Refrigerate for 12 hours+ – Cool on the counter. Then refrigerate for 12 hours+ to ensure the custard fully sets.
Don’t try to shortcut it and don’t think that you can cut a slice at the 3 hour mark because it seems pretty set! If you cut out a slice before it’s fully set, you will break the custard in the whole pie and it will never set again. Again, I know this from first hand experience from testing variation iterations of this Chocolate Cream Pie as well as this recipe, this recipe and this recipe!
Cream – Carefully peel off the paper then top with whipped cream.
Garnish with a sprinkle of grated chocolate, if desired. Then, it’s ready to devour!
Matters of serving and eating
Because it’s a pie, it’s best to serve it out of the pie tin. Removing the whole pie would be risky! Cut in the pie tin and lift (pulling the first slice out neatly is always a little tricky, if necessary, I will resort to a rubber spatula to get right underneath). The Oreo cookie crust holds together when sliced (see video and photos) but it crumbles a bit as you start eating it which makes the whole eating experience even better. Because, imagine this:
A big mouthful of rich, smooth, chocolatey filling with clouds of fluffy cream PLUS little bits of crumbled Oreo cookie…..
It’s just perfection! – Nagi xx
PS If you want to make this ahead, do it up to 2 days ahead without the whipped cream weeping, then stabilise the whipped cream by adding marscapone. Information about stabilised whipped cream here, recipe is in the notes of the recipe card below.
Watch how to make it
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Chocolate Cream Pie
Ingredients
Crust:
- 25 Oreo biscuits , whole with filling in tact (244g / 8.5 oz) (Note 1)
- 60g / 4 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
Filling:
- 1/4 cup cornflour / cornstarch
- 2/3 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cups milk (whole or reduced fat, not zero fat)
- 1 cup cream (pouring or thickened/heavy), or sub with milk (Note 2)
- 4 egg yolks from large eggs (Note 3 for leftover whites)
- 2 tbsp / 30g unsalted butter , cut into 1cm / 0.5" cubes
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150g/ 5 oz dark 70% cocoa chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (Note 4)
- 75g/ 3 oz milk chocolate , finely chopped (Note 4)
Whipped cream
- 1 1/2 cups thickened / heavy cream , for whipping
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Optional garnish
- Chocolate , for grating (optional decoration)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160° fan-forced).
- Cut round paper – Cut a round piece of baking / parchment paper, the size of the pie dish (to prevent skin forming on custard). (Note 5)
Oreo cookie crust:
- Blitz – Break up Oreos roughly by hand and place in a food processor. Blitz into crumbs (~10 sec). Add butter, blitz to mix through. Mixture should resemble wet sand. (No food processor? Bash in ziplock bag with a rolling pin).
- Press – Pour into a 23cm / 9" pie dish. Spread crumbs out and press firmly into the base and up the walls using your hands, spatula or something flat.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven – the crust will be slightly puffed. Press down gently using a rubber spatula (makes it even crustier!) then allow to cool on the counter before filling.
Filling (see video, it's helpful):
- Whisk dry, then wet – Place cornflour, sugar and salt in a large saucepan. Whisk to combine. Add milk, cream and yolks. Whisk to combine.
- Heat to thicken – Turn heat onto medium high. As the mixture warms up, whisk every now and then, but not constantly. As the liquid starts to get hot at around the 3 – 5 minute mark (you'll see steam), turn the stove down to medium low and start to whisk constantly. You will feel and see the mixture start to thicken. Got lumps? See Note 6!
- 45 second whisk – When you see slow, lazy bubbles (~6 minutes, you will need to pause whisking to see bubbles), whisk constantly for 45 seconds then take it off the stove.
- Chocolate and butter – Add butter, chocolate and vanilla. Whisk until chocolate melts and filling is smooth.
Assembling / setting custard
- Pour hot filling into pie crust, filling it right to the top, smooth surface. Gently place round baking paper on surface. (Surplus custard? Note 7)
- Cool on the counter for 2 hours then refrigerate for 12+ hours to allow the custard to fully set.
- Whipped cream – Beat whipped cream ingredients in a bowl on high for 2 to 3 minutes until softly whipped.
- Topping – Carefully peel back paper. Pile on the whipped cream, then grate chocolate across the surface.
- Serving – Keep the pie in the pie tin. Cut and serve!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published in 2017. It’s such a personal favourite, I really wanted to re-publish it with better photos and a much improved recipe video. My skills have improved over the past 5 years with lots of practice!
Life of Dozer
Normally when I re-publish a recipe, I add a new Life of Dozer photo. But this one from 2017 is so lovely, I don’t want to change it!
From 2017, as originally published:
Not just food photos that Dozer photobombs….. This is a magnificent sun rise we had earlier this week. Once a year thing. Pretty, isn’t it?
Claire says
I made this and it was a total hit! One question though – it took me about 45 minutes to make the custard… It turned out perfectly but I’m wondering why it took so long. I had the heat on medium-low (3 or 4 on an induction stovetop that goes to 9) but I ended up having to put it up to 6 to get the custard to thicken. Is this normal? Should I just have started higher?
Beth Tennison says
Same with me! Took probably 12-15 minutes to thicken-I turned it up a bit but was afraid to go too high. Probably just a difference in stove tops. Such a wonderful recipe!!
Brad says
What is an Oreo biscuit?
Nagi says
Hi Brad, they are a type of sandwich biscuit with cream in the middle – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oreo 🙂 N x
Sarah says
I adore your recipes Nagi!
They’re all so delicious! 🤤
Claire says
Hi Nagi, i love your recipes.
This one tasted delicious but after 12 hours in the fridge it still was not set properly. It was runny like soft custard and not moulded. What can I add to make it more thick, more eggs or more cornstarch?
Katzen says
Hi, not sure if this helps, but cornstarch based sauces won’t set or thicken properly if you take a taste test and some saliva gets back in the pot.. something with the enzymes in your mouth. Same with gelatin.
Nagi says
Hi Claire, sorry you’re having issues – are you sure you measured everything correct as it should have set after 12 hours. N x
Claire says
100 percent sure I used every ingredient to the tee! My ingredients are South African brands…maybe the brands are not the same strength…if I add more cornstarch would this help?
Annekathrin Böck says
Hey there, I made this cake for my birthday today and the filling did not thicken, so I turned up the heat. Then the milk-mixture burned…. I transferred it to a new pot and continued heating it for 15min but it didn’t thicken. So I just filled it into the oreo-base and hoped it would thicken in the fridge. It did not. Its chocolate sauce 🙁 I used German starch – Speisestärke, otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Can I maybe save this cake by baking it for a little while?
John says
Can this be frozen after the 12 hours and the parchment paper taken off?
Nagi says
Hi John, this recipe isn’t suitable to be frozen sorry – freezing mixtures with cornflour in it changes the texture. N x
King HyBrid says
love your cooking videos
and am new here
Eva says
I was given this pie as a gift for my birthday, and there was no way we could eat all of it. It was so delicious, yet so rich.
I put the remaining cake in the freezer, with whipped cream on, and it went very well. I ate it half-tawed, and it was very good!
King HyBrid says
hi am new here i love your cooking vids.
Remar Holt says
Hi! This looks delicious and would like to try making it. One question though, is it possible to just chill the Oreo base and not bake?
Nagi says
Hi Remar, when you cook it it changes the texture to more of a crispy base – if you just chill it won’t have quite the same texture. N x
Emma says
I can’t believe I have been baking so long and have just learned why my baking bits don’t melt, they always seize. I feel a little sill. Thanks for your detailed explanations and fun anecdotes. Just love your recipes!
Harshi says
Hi Nagi. This recipe looks delish!! What can I use instead of eggs?
Nagi says
Hi Harshi, the eggs help this to set – I haven’t tried with any subs sorry !N x
Kim Bellizzi says
So rich and delicious. Cream on top is a must. Perfectly crunchy base 👌 Was wondering if I would be able to freeze the left overs as I dont think we will get through it in time 😟 Please say yes!
Nagi says
Hi Kim, this one isn’t suitable to freeze sorry as it affects the cornflour – you’ll just have to indulge 😉 N x
Katrina Gauci says
Hey do you use salted or instead butter?
Nagi says
I use unsalted Katrina – N x
Amalia Lindhe says
Hi, could the biscuit base be changed to something else besides oreos?
Ella says
loved this recipe! Made it for my nieces Bday and it was delicious 100% recommend
Gigi says
This pie is incredibly decadent! Great chocolate flavor, silky texture and lovely crust. Sooooooooo goood!
Sandy Ku says
This recipe was so delicious and easy to put together. The whole family loved it. They would rather eat this than birthday cake!
Nagi says
I love hearing this Sandy!! N x
Jacqui says
I have a bottle of Baileys Salted Caramel Flavour in the fridge that’s only good for another month.
I found a recipe on the Bailey’s website, but I’d rather add it to this Smash Hit.
Any hints? Should I just add it with the cream ingredients and subtract the 4 tbsp from the cream amount?
Thanks Nagi, my Cookery Guru!
Nagi says
Hi Jacqui – you’d be mad not to! I’d just keep the recipe the same and add it to the filling at step 6. N x
Candice says
Hello!
I made this pie and it was a hit, which made me so happy 😊
Just a quick question, could you make this into mini versions using a muffin tray?
Thanks 😊
Nagi says
I’m so glad you love it – ye you can definitely make mini versions! N x
Niall says
Just made this and it’s great but unfortunately the baking paper completely stuck to the filling and ripped it from the base while trying to remove. Any idea why this would have happened? It was refrigerated for about 18 hours prior to removing it.
Vanessa says
Did you use greaseproof paper instead of parchment or baking paper? The latter doesn’t need to be greased, but the former sticks like crazy to baked goods (it happened to me when I used it to bake muffins).
Nagi says
Oh no Niall!!! Could you gently pry it off with a knife?
Michelle says
Hi, I have an 8 inch pie dish, can you give the scaled down ingredient measurements please, as your recipe requires a 9 inch pie dish? Thanks.
Nita says
Morning is it possible to use tinned custard?
Nagi says
Hi Nita, I prefer to make mine – not sure about tinned sorry! N x
Jan says
Hi Nagi, would pregnant women be able to eat this? I wasn’t sure because of the eggs
Tas says
Hi Nagi,
Would this be possible to make as mini shooter versions for parties? (Shot glass desserts)
If so, would there be any changes made to your recipe? Bar the baking of the oreo base?
Would love a recipe for some different shooter desserts for dinner parties!
Love all your recipes! Your chicken doner especially, mind blowingly amazing!
Nagi says
Hi Jan, It’s cooked so will be fine 🙂 N x
Jeanine Picard says
Recently made this recipe and absolutely loved it!
Nagi says
Wahoo, thanks Jeanine! N x