This Chocolate Cream Pie is what happens when you take really good pastry cream, add copious amounts of bittersweet chocolate, spread all that rich, chocolate dreaminess into a crispy Toasted Almond Crust, and then top it with a mile-high layer of whipped cream.
In other words, this pie is the ultimate in rich, creamy, chocolate lusciousness.

Spoiler alert. The reason this chocolate cream pie is sooooooo rich and creamy is because the filling incorporates copious amounts of melted chocolate into incredibly rich and creamy pastry cream.
If you've been around here for a while, there's a good chance you've made this pastry cream because I use it All. The. Time. Without a doubt, it's one of the most used, most loved, most versatile, most delicious recipes in my baking toolbox.
So far, this pastry cream has had a starring role in pretty much all of my favorite pastries, including...
- As the filling for Coconut Cream Cake and Extra Creamy Coconut Cream Pie and Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie
- Layered between flaky puff pastry in Classic Napoleon and Cannoli Napoleon
- Mixed with mascarpone cheese and spread between layers of lemon olive oil cake
- As the filling for Chocolate Eclairs, Mini Butterscotch Eclairs and Profiteroles {Cream Puffs}
- Spiked with Amaretto and spooned into buttery tart shells for Blackberry Custard Tarts
- Layered with Apple Butter and folded into Cream Cheese Pastry Dough for Apple Hand Pies
- Baked into Strawberries and Cream Pie
- Mixed with Caramel Sauce and stuffed into Salted Caramel Doughnut Holes
- As a super rich and creamy filling for Overnight Yeast Raised Doughnuts
- Sandwiched between about a million layers of crepes for Peaches and Cream Crepe Cake
Chocolate Pastry Cream is straightforward and simple to make and remarkably stable. It will hold its own at room temperature for hours without breaking down, and you can even bake it inside pastries like hand pies. Even better, this pastry cream can be frozen.
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Ingredients Needed to Prepare this Recipe
- Good quality bittersweet chocolate. There's a lot of chocolate in this pie, so use the highest quality chocolate you can find and afford. I like to use Lindt 70% chocolate bars.
- Plain, unflavored powdered gelatin. Just 2 teaspoons of gelatin is the secret to super stable pastry cream that won't break down or separate and that can even be frozen.
- 8 large egg yolks. So, what do you do with the leftover egg whites? Check out the FAQ section below for a list of ideas.
- Cornstarch thickens the pastry cream so you can serve this pie in neat, creamy slices.
- Whole milk. You can also use 2% but whole milk makes the creamiest chocolate cream filling.
- Granulated sugar. Just enough sugar to make the pie sweet but not cloying.
- Salt.
- Vanilla and/or almond extract. The vanilla is mandatory because it rounds out the bitterness and emphasizes the flavor of the chocolate. The almond extract is optional - use it if you want to add a hint of almond to your chocolate cream pie.
- Heavy whipping cream. This is a cream pie, after all. There's heavy cream in the pastry cream and (of course) in the whipped cream topping.
- Powdered (confectioners) sugar for the smoothest whipped cream topping.
+ One bottom pie crust. My favorite pie crust to use with this pie is Toasted Almond Pie Crust. I love the extra crispy texture of toasted almond pie crust with any kind of cream pie and the almond flavor goes particularly well with chocolate.
Step by Step Photos and Instructions
To make the chocolate pastry cream:
Chop the bittersweet chocolate into small pieces and pile them into a medium-sized bowl.
Measure the gelatin into a small bowl and add about a tablespoon of water. Stir until all the gelatin is moistened and set aside.
Add the egg yolks and the cornstarch to another bowl and mix with a wire whisk until combined.
Pour the milk into a saucepan, add some sugar and a pinch of salt, and cook until it just barely begins to boil. Remove the pan from the heat.
Pour the hot milk into a measuring cup with a spout and then add it to the egg yolks very slowly. It's important to pour the hot milk into the egg yolks slowly so they don't scramble.
Pour everything back into the saucepan and set it over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly until the custard is thick and begins to boil.
Remove the pan from the heat and continue stirring for 20 seconds.
Pour the hot pastry cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for a minute or so to allow the chocolate to melt.
Break the softened gelatin into pieces and sprinkle them over the top of the pastry cream.
Stir the now-melted chocolate and gelatin into the pastry cream. Add the extracts and stir to incorporate then cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 48 hours.
Time to "lighten" the rich chocolate pastry cream with some whipped cream!
- Use an electric mixer to beat some heavy cream until the cream is thick enough to hold its shape.
- Remove the cooled chocolate pastry cream (it will be quite thick!) from the refrigerator and add it to the bowl with the whipped cream. Beat the chocolate pastry cream into the whipped cream until they are completely combined.
- Scoop the chocolate cream filling into a pre-baked pie crust and smooth it out into an even layer.
- Beat some more heavy cream with powdered sugar and some vanilla extract, then spread the whipped cream over the chocolate cream filling.
That's it! Keep the pie in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Advance Preparation Tips
Most people will tell you that you can't freeze pastry cream. But, friends, I am here to tell you that you CAN, in fact, freeze THIS chocolate pastry cream filling because of one superstar ingredient: gelatin.
Yes, the recipe also includes cornstarch and freezing things thickened with cornstarch generally results in a gloppy, gluey mess. But, simply add some gelatin and you can freeze the pastry cream with abandon.
The consistency after it has thawed will still be perfectly creamy and delicious. It's magical.
How to freeze chocolate pastry cream:
- Freeze the filling BEFORE adding the whipped cream. Make the chocolate pastry cream, letting it cool in the refrigerator completely. Then, make sure it's in an air-tight container or a bowl that's well wrapped and put it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Allow the frozen chocolate pastry cream to thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for about 3-4 hours. Once thawed, beat the chocolate pastry cream with some whipped cream, spoon it into the pie crust, and top it with even more whipped cream. 😋
How to Freeze the Toasted Almond Pie Crust
The Toasted Almond Pie Crust dough can also be frozen for up to three months.
Form the dough into a ball and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, then place in a freezer zip-top bag or another air tight container. Let the dough thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling out and baking.
You can also roll the dough out before freezing it. Lay the rolled out dough on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and let freeze for a few hours until solid. Once solid, you can remove the dough from the baking sheet, wrapping it tightly before placing it back in the freezer.
Allow the dough to thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then proceed to bake and fill the crust.
Different Pie Crust Options
If you'd prefer to use a pastry that does not contain almonds or any kind of nuts, use this recipe for Fool Proof Pie Crust instead.
Fool Proof Pie Crust has been my go-to pie crust recipe for decades. I’ve used it to make hundreds of pies of every variety and it hasn’t failed me yet. It’s tender, flaky, flavorful, extremely easy to work with, and truly worthy of the name “fool proof”.
The recipe makes enough for 2 double crust pies, which is much more than you'll need for this pie. You can cut the recipe in half, or just freeze the leftover pie crust dough according to the instructions in the recipe's notes.
Recipe FAQs
A: Here are three ideas for using the leftover egg whites:
1. Freeze them. I like to freeze them in ice cube trays, one egg white per cube. Once frozen, they can be popped out and stored in a freezer bag or other container for up to 1 year. Thaw as needed in the refrigerator, letting them sit out at room temperature for about 30 minutes so that they come to room temperature before using them in baking recipes.
2. Use them to make Italian Meringue Buttercream. Italian Meringue Buttercream is my all time favorite frosting for cakes and cupcakes. It’s silky smooth, incredibly creamy, and absolutely gorgeous to work with. Even better, the recipe happens to require 8 egg whites. It's kismet.
3. Make a meringue topping for this pie instead of using whipped cream. The only difference between a chocolate meringue pie and a chocolate cream pie is whether it has a whipped cream or meringue topping. If you'd prefer to top your chocolate cream pie with meringue, simply follow the instructions for the meringue topping in this Lemon Meringue Pie recipe. The recipe only requires 4 egg whites, so freeze the remaining 4 if you like for your next meringue topped pie.
A: The chocolate pastry cream and toasted almond pie crust dough can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator or frozen for up to 3 months. You'll find instructions for how to freeze chocolate pastry cream in the recipe card below.
Once the pie is assembled, it can be covered stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
More Popular Cream Pie Recipes
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #ofbatteranddough on Instagram.
Happy baking!
📖 Recipe
Extra Rich and Creamy Chocolate Cream Pie
This Chocolate Cream Pie is the ultimate in rich, creamy, chocolate lusciousness.
The Chocolate Cream filling is made by adding a ridiculous amount of bittersweet chocolate to rich and cream pastry cream.
And the toasted almond crust is nutty, buttery, and super crispy, delivering a delicious contrast to the ultra-creamy chocolate cream and whipped cream topping.
Ingredients
- One bottom pie crust, well chilled; I used this recipe for Toasted Almond Pie Crust
- 8 ounces (213 grams) of bittersweet chocolate; I used Lindt 70% chocolate bars.
- 2 teaspoons plain, unflavored powdered gelatin
- 1 tablespoon water
- 8 large egg yolks (*See FAQs above for ways to use up the leftover egg whites.)
- ⅓ cup (37.3 grams) cornstarch
- 2 ½ cups (20 ounces/ 567 grams) of whole milk
- ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon table salt, OR ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, divided (2 teaspoons for the filling and 2 teaspoons for the whipped cream topping)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 2 ¼ cups (18 ounces/ 511 grams) heavy whipping cream, divided (¾ cup/ 170 grams for the filling and 1 ½ cups/ 340 grams for the topping.)
- ½ cup (57 grams) confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
Instructions
Make the Chocolate Cream Filling:
- Finely chop the chocolate and place it in a medium size bowl. Set aside.
- Add the gelatin to a small bowl and add the 1 tablespoon of water. Stir to moisten the gelatin and set aside.
- Add the egg yolks and cornstarch to a medium size bowl and beat with a wire whisk to combine. Set the bowl on a kitchen towel somewhere close to the stovetop. (This will keep the bowl from sliding around on your counter when you whisk in the hot milk.)
- Set a 1 or 2 cup heat proof measuring cup next to the stovetop. (Preferably one with a pourable spout.)
- Add the milk, sugar, and salt to a 3-quart or larger heavy bottomed saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, just until it barely begins to boil. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Pour 2 cups of the hot milk into the measuring cup. (If using a 1-cup measure, do this in two batches.) Slowly pour the hot milk from the measuring cup into the egg yolks, pouring very slowly, and whisking constantly. Then, pour everything back into the saucepan and set it over low heat. (*See note.)
- Cook, stirring constantly, until the custard is thick and begins to boil. As soon as thickens to the consistency of pudding and barely begins to boil, remove from the heat and whisk for about 20 seconds longer.
- Pour the pastry cream over the chopped chocolate. Do not stir.
- Break the gelatin into small pieces and drop them onto the hot pastry cream. Let stand for about 20 seconds to let the gelatin melt, then stir until the gelatin and the chocolate are completely incorporated, about 20 seconds. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.
- Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap over the surface of the pastry cream. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 48 hours. (*At this point, the pastry cream can be frozen. See notes below.)
Bake the crust and assemble the pie:
- Follow the instructions in the recipe for Toasted Almond Pie Crust to roll out and fully pre-bake the crust.
- Let the crust cool completely before filling.
- Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat ¾ cup of the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
- Remove the cooled chocolate pastry cream from the refrigerator and add to the whipped cream. Beat on medium speed with an electric mixer until fully combined, about 1 minute.
- Scoop the chocolate cream filling into the cooled pie crust, smoothing it out into an even layer.
- Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the remaining 1 ½ cups of heavy cream with 2 teaspoon vanilla extract and the powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over the chocolate cream filling.
- Refrigerate the pie until ready to serve.
Notes
Tips for perfect pastry cream:
- I like to stir with a silicone spatula until the custard starts to thicken so I can easily scrape along the corners of the pan. Once the custard begins to thicken, switch to a whisk and whisk vigourously.
- After adding the egg yolks, it's important to heat the pastry cream slowly so that the eggs don't scramble. It should take roughly 15 minutes for the cream to thicken. If it's taking longer than that, go ahead and turn up the heat slightly.
- It's important to remove the pastry cream from the heat as soon as it thickens. This happens quickly; you'll be stirring and stirring, and the consistency will remaing the same and then suddenly, it will thicken. When this begins to happen, whisk vigouroulsy over the heat until the entire mixture is the consistency of pudding. Then remove it from the heat and continue to whisk for 20 minutes or so.
How to Freeze the Chocolate Cream Filling:
- Freeze the filling BEFORE adding the whipped cream.
- Make the chocolate pastry cream, letting it cool in the refrigerator completely.
- Make sure it's in an air-tight container or a bowl that's well wrapped and put it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Allow the frozen chocolate pastry cream to thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for about 3-4 hours. Once thawed, add the pastry cream to whipped cream, and spoon it into the pie crust.
Nut-Free Alternative to Toasted Almond Pie Crust:
If you'd prefer to use a pastry that does not contain almonds, use this recipe for Fool Proof Pie Crust instead. The recipe for Fool Proof Pie Crust makes enough for 2 double crust pies, which is much more than you'll need for this pie. You can cut the recipe in half, or just freeze the leftover pie crust dough according to the instructions in the recipe notes.
How to keep the edges of the pie crust from burning:
- Cut two pieces of aluminum foil that are about 2 feet (24 inches) long. Set the foil pieces on a baking sheet so that they are perpendicular to each other.
- Set the pie in the center of the foil. Wrap the foil up and over the edges of the pie crust, crimping the foil so that the edges of the pie are loosely covered. This will protect the edges of the crust from burning.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
-
Pyrex Easy Grab Glass 9.5 Inch Pie Plate (2-Pack)
-
Totally Bamboo Rolling Pin
-
OXO Good Grips 11-Inch Better Balloon Whisk
-
OXO Good Grips 3 Piece Silicone Spatula Set
-
OXO Good Grips 2-Cup Angled Measuring Cup
-
Lindt Excellence Bar, 70% Cocoa Smooth Dark Chocolate, 3.5 Ounce (Pack of 12)
-
Knox Unflavored Gelatin - 1 lb
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 761Total Fat: 52gSaturated Fat: 30gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 293mgSodium: 367mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 5gSugar: 33gProtein: 17g
Valerie says
Absolutely delicious pie Rebecca! The chocolate pastry cream is good enough to eat just on its own - and I had a hard time resisting eating it all. This will definitely become my go to pastry cream recipe.
Rebecca Blackwell says
I'm so happy to hear that this recipe worked out so well for you Valerie! I know exactly what you mean about having to restrain yourself from eating all the chocolate pastry cream! I can hardly manage it. 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me. And thank you for participating in the Bake Club! xo
Todd Harl says
I love this recipe. Had a game night at some friends last night and was requested to bring a dessert, so I thought I would give it a try.
Like your other pastry cream desserts, the custardy pastry cream is so rich and delicious on its own and only gets better with adding chocolate. I do like the addition of almond to many of my desserts, but usually lean more on the less side, so I only used half of the the required extract for the pastry cream. Perfect!
Rebecca Blackwell says
I'm so happy to hear that you liked this recipe, Todd! Friends, games, and chocolate sounds like a fantastic evening to me! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment for me. And thank you for participating in the Bake Club! xo