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.
Recipe notes
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