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
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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?
Emma says
Hi! The recipe says to cook the base for 10 mins but the video says 15, which time should I go by? Thank you
Nagi says
Hi Emma! Sorry I forgot to include a note above the video, it should be 10 min 🙂 Typo in video I never got around to changing! Have now added a note – N x
Angela says
Hi Nagi, instead of butter in crust and pie ingredients, can you substitute oil- olive or coconut? If so, what is the measurement?
Nagi says
Hi Angela, it wont set like butter so no, it wont be a suitable substitute here.
Linda Archer says
Hi Nagi, could I use a springform pan for this? Or do I need a dish like yours?
Nagi says
Hi Linda, you could definitely use a springform if you don’t have a pie dish – Enjoy! N x
Paul says
Is it possible to let sit in the fridge only 3-4hrs? Or is 12 much better?
Nagi says
Hi Paul – it need’s to set, so as long as it’s set in your fridge after 4 hours then it will be fine. N x
Michelle Jenkins says
Made this tonight for a party tomorrow. The chocolate custard is so smooth and rich. I liked the bowl. I know my friends will love this pie. Another great recipe, thanks Nagi
Nagi says
It’s going to be a hit (if it makes it to the party 😂)
Bernie says
Love all of your recipes.
We celebrate mostly Christmas Eve. Grilled tenderloin and lots of goodies
I would love to win that knife. I could definitely use it!
Have a greath
Sarah Owen says
Hi
I kind of had the same issue as Emily mixed together fine but had kind of a greasy coating to the outside!!!
Like possibly too much fat in the recipe!?
Used cream and whole milk,butter, and correct type of chocolate!!
Hopefully when I put whip cream on and cut it you won’t notice this!
Emily says
Hi Nagi,
I’m doing a practice run of this recipe before Xmas and I’m so glad because I think I’ve botched it 😩
My filling was looking really good but once I added the butter and chocolate it went really strange and separated 😩
It doesn’t look nice but I’m cracking on to see if it gets better after chilling.
I’ve used the chocolate you’ve recommended. Do you think I may have had the cornflour on the stove for too long?
Nagi says
Hi Emily, that doesn’t sound right at all! Did it not come together after whisking?
Emily says
Hi Nagi, just wanted to say that I tried the recipe again for Xmas day and it worked beautifully! I don’t know what I did wrong the first time! Perhaps having extra hands to look after my baby helped 🤣
Everybody raved about the pie!
Emily says
Hi Nagi, thanks for your reply ☺️
The filling was looking great until I started whisking in the melted butter. I used western star butter.
The butter seemed to separate from the filling and there was a layer of butter on top 🤣
Do you think it would work if I didn’t include the butter next time and just whisked in the chocolate?
It surprisingly still turned out ok and was edible. I just scraped off the butter and the cream did a good job of covering it! The filling didn’t have the lovely smooth look but it at least felt smooth in my mouth ☺️
Lauren Fratto says
Does the heating process reduce the risk of salmonella from the egg yolks? I am pregnant and want to make sure it’s safe to consume
Emily says
Hi Nagi,
I’d love to make this for Xmas. We’ve got 12 people and there will be a couple of other smaller dessert offerings. Do you think it’d be possible to stretch this pie to 12 servings (I’m sure everyone will want some) or should I up the ingredients?
Nagi says
Hi Emily, depends on how greedy your guests are! 😂 I thin it will be fine to stretch to 12 with some other desserts as well – N x
Emily says
Thanks Nagi,
Emily says
I’ve always wanted to know how to make pumpkin cream pie!
Alexandra Koytz says
Hi Nagi!
I have decided to try this recipe for my partners birthday. BUT… (this will sound strange) – he doesn’t like Oreo cookies! Is there another chocolate biscuit I could substitute it for?
Thanks 🙂
Nagi says
OH MY! I never knew such a person existed!! You need a cookie with a filling – I imagine kingstons or monte carlo may work – N x
Claudia says
My parchment paper is sticking to the top of the chocolate cream in the refrigerator= the cream tastes great and I am assuming I will just smooth out the top before putting on the whipped cream????
Nagi says
Hi Claudia, yes it sticks to the cream but will peel off once it has cooled – this will stop it from getting a film on top 🙂
Sarah Sen says
Quick question. Can I pour the hot custard into the pie or do wait for the custard to cook down?
Malini says
Quick question… Is this basically like a chocolate Bavarian, you get from freezer section? thanks!
Nagi says
Yes! That’s such a good description I added it to the post! 🙂 N x
Ann Cullingham says
Bar none the most popular dessert I’ve ever made, and made and made ( they won’t stop asking!) Thanks so much Nagi
Nagi says
Oooh that’s awesome to hear Ann, good for you! — Nxx
Liza says
I just made this and it is delicious! My only comment is that the filling took MUCH longer to thicken than the recipe stated. I whisked for about 15 minutes before it started to thicken, and then another 5-10 minutes.
Adriana says
Hey Nagi,
your dishes look AMAZING! can’t wait to try all these for our thanksgiving feats this week!
One question please- does this freeze well? also if not how long would it last in the fridge?
Courtney says
Your recipes never fail me and this one was no exception! I got a bit worried while making it that the filling would not set properly because after cooking the choc filling I had to let it sit for 15 minutes while the pie crust cooled down (bad timing on my part!) but it all came together (and held together) beautifully in the end. Will definitely be making this one again!
Salma says
Hi Nagi! I’m from Sri Lanka and just recently discovered your blog and I’m so glad I did! I love your blog and recipes! I tried making your Chocolate Cream Pie for our Eid festival and it’s become an instant hit! So delicious and yet so easy! Which means so much to me since I’m such an unconfident cook! Thank you so much❤️ I’m already planning to try out more of your recipes😍
Nagi says
Glad to hear you enjoyed this Salma!! Thanks for letting me know 🙂 N x ❤️
Salma says
Hi Nagi! I’m from Sri Lanka and I just tried making your chocolate cream pie and it was a big hit at home! It was so delicious and so easy!!! I love your blog and your recipes and can’t wait to try some more!