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Sarah Cooks: Chocolate Pudding Pie
Chocolate

Chocolate Pudding Pie

2/25/2018 08:50:00 PM

Chocolate Pudding Pie

Chocolate pudding pie! We've got a cocoa graham cracker crust, filled with a silky smooth and rich chocolate pudding, topped with lashings of whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Chocolate pie heaven!

We had a friend over for dinner the other night, as a thank-you for helping us shop for a car. (Ugh, car shopping is the worst, and our friend is The Best!) Sandra made a huge German feast - sausages, Kassler (AKA bacon steak) mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, red cabbage, and more - and I wanted to make a nice chocolatey treat for dessert.

German feast

A chocolate cake is always a good option, but I felt like making something a little fancier. I also remembered the huge stash of graham crackers tucked away in my snack drawer (an actual drawer next to my spot on the couch), and from there it was a hop, skip and a jump to a chocolate pie. I figured Joy the Baker would have a great recipe using graham crackers, and I found this excellent recipe for Chocolate Pudding Pie in the heart-stopping pie chapter of her lovely book: Homemade Decadence. I made a few minor adjustments for the ingredients I had available, and that was it!

Not sponsored by Nabisco

Here's my graham cracker stash. By the way, I'm not sponsored by Nabisco! (But woah, can you imagine if that was a thing? That would be the life.) Sandra kindly bought me all of these fab biscuits when she was working in the US last year. She asked if I wanted a gift, and the first thing I could think of was: graham crackers! I'd read about them in so many American cookbooks and now I could try them! I also loved how they sell them pre-crumbed for mega convenience.

So - the base is some graham cracker crumbs (obviously just use Digestives or other plain biscuits if you haven't got a graham cracker stash), butter, sugar and cocoa powder.

Fine crumbs, sugar, cocoa, butter

Then you press the mixture around the base and sides of a pie dish. I used a glass to get the crust nice and smooth, but I don't think you need to be too precious about it.

Pie crust

Then you bake it and let it cool while you get on with the filling.

I'll level with you - American style chocolate puddings are not usually my thing, as I tend to find them a bit plain and underwhelming. I'm much more of a hot baked chocolate pudding girl. (Chocolate self-saucing pudding yessssss). However, this pudding mixture is super chocolatey - with generous amounts of both cocoa and dark chocolate, it's a proper chocolate pudding and not an insipid cocoa-flavoured custard.

Making the filling

I was nervous making the pudding, as I was worried it might curdle like a custard if I overcooked, but on reflection I realise there are no eggs in the mixture so it's not gonna curdle! Just keep whisking and cooking until it is luscious and thick.

Chocolate pudding

Once it's cooked, lots of deep dark chocolate gets stirred into the pudding. I did a quick search online, and it seems that traditional pudding recipes don't include melted chocolate in the mixture, just cocoa, so this must explain why this pudding was so much more delicious than regular pudding. Listen to Joy, she knows the score.

Chocolate for chopping

Chopped chocolate

You need a bit of time for the pudding to chill, and once everything's completely cold you can assemble the pie!

Pudding filling

Filled pie

Chocolate Pudding Pie

I cannot overstate how good this pie was. I loved the contrast between the crisp graham cracker base, the lusciously smooth and intense chocolate pudding filling, and the light whipped cream bringing everything together. The only (tiny) downside was that it was a little messy to cut and serve, but I did not hear anyone complaining! Make it for a dinner party dessert, bring it to a barbecue, or just eat it alone at home with a giant spoon...? No judgement from me.

Chocolate Pudding Pie
Adapted from Joy the Baker's Homemade Decadence

Ingredients
For the shell
1 cup Graham Cracker crumbs (or use Digestive biscuits)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon sugar
Pinch of salt
75 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled
For the filling
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup cornflour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups full-fat milk
110 grams 70% cocoa dark chocolate, finely chopped
15 grams unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the whipped cream topping
1.5 cups cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons icing sugar
1 pinch of salt
10 grams dark chocolate, finely chopped, for topping

Method
To make the shell, preheat the oven to 175C. Stir together the biscuit crumbs, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and melted butter. Place the mixture into a 22cm pie dish, and press against the mixture evenly against the bottom and sides of the dish. Bake for 12 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
To make the filling, place the light brown sugar, cocoa powder, cornflour and salt in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Whisk in 1 cup of milk until smooth. Slowly whisk in the remaining 2 cups of milk.
Place the pan over a medium-low heat, and cook, whisking frequently, for about 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened. Turn the heat up to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly.
Remove the pan from the heat, and add the dark chocolate, butter, and vanilla. Whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a bowl. Cover the bowl with clingfilm, making sure the clingfilm touches the surface of the pudding. (This is to prevent it forming a skin.) Refrigerate until completely cold, 2-3 hours. (You can speed it up by placing the pudding bowl inside a larger bowl filled with ice and water).
Make the whipped cream just before assembling the pie. Place the cream, vanilla extract, icing sugar, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whisk until firm peaks form.
To assemble the pie, spoon the chilled pudding mixture into the pie crust and level it out with a spatula. Top with the whipped cream and sprinkle with the chopped chocolate. Refrigerate for a couple more hours before serving.
Makes one 22cm pie

Have you made this recipe? Leave a comment below! Tag me on Instagram @sarahcooksblog and hashtag #sarahcooksblog

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3 comments

  1. yummy chocolate pudding

    ReplyDelete
  2. The whole dinner looks amazing, but of course the pie is tops! yum!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That pie looks wonderful-also the German food also looks great! :D

    ReplyDelete

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