How to Make a Fresh Chocolate Cream Pie

Lauretta Jean’s Kate McMillen demonstrates how to make a chocolate cream pie using fresh made dough, and a filling made from scratch. The recipe from the video is below.

Chocolate Cream Pie recipe

Makes a 9″ pie that serves 8
Courtesy of Kate McMillen

Pie Dough Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Prepare your pie shell. Roll out your pie dough and tuck it into the pie dish.
3. Freeze it for 15 minutes to firm up the butter.
4. Line the frozen pie dough with parchment paper, fill it to the top with pie weights and bake it for 15 minutes. (You can use a big coffee filter in place of parchment paper)
5. Remove the pie weights and prick the dough all over. Return the pie to the oven and bake for 8 more minutes.
6. Brush the crust with egg white and bake one more minute.
7. Let cool.

Ingredients for pie filling

• 3 cups whole milk
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 5 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 T butter
• 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions to make the chocolate pastry cream

1. Put into a large bowl the chocolates, butter and vanilla. Suspend a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and set aside.
2. In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolks, cornstarch, and a dash of the whole milk until the cornstarch is no longer lumpy.
3. Heat the remaining milk, sugar, and salt until it reaches a simmer.
4. When hot, pour about a half cup into the egg mixture to temper the eggs, whisking the egg mix constantly.
5. Pour the tempered eggs into the hot pot of milk stirring constantly until thick, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
6. Pour the hot mixture into the bowl of chocolate and stir until smooth.
7. Top with a piece of plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.
8. Chill the pastry cream until cold.
9. To assemble the pie, spoon in the chocolate pastry cream and top with freshly whipped cream and finely some shaved chocolate or dust with cocoa powder.