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Best Chocolate Pie Recipe - Food & Wine

This chocolate pie, aka Minny's Chocolate Pie, is the one featured in the movie The Help. Indeed, Lee Ann Flemming made a whopping 53 pies during the movie's filming. It's a simple, cozy recipe that can be dressed up depending on the occasion. You may not bake this as many times as Flemming did, but once you try her chocolate pie recipe, you're definitely going to want to make it again.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen You can prepare your own crust, but Flemming uses packaged to make this recipe for chocolate pie even easier and faster. When you mix the filling together, it's vital to combine everything until it's completely smooth and homogenous. It may help to mix the wet and dry ingredients separately before whisking them together, especially since cocoa powder has a tendency to clump. The goal is not to incorporate air, but to be thorough to avoid eggy bits in your finished pie. Be sure to make this dessert a few hours in advance of when you want to serve it so the chocolate pie has time to cool to a rich, fudgy texture — don't be tempted to cut into it sooner. Frequently asked questions What are chocolate pies made of? One of the virtues of chocolate pie is that it's made from only a handful of ingredients — and pantry staples for bakers, at that. You'll need a can of evaporated milk and your favorite unsweetened cocoa powder, along with sugar, butter, eggs, salt, and vanilla extract, plus a pre-made pie crust if you're not preparing a pie crust from scratch. Don't forget to have some whipped cream on hand for serving. How do you thicken a chocolate pie filling? This recipe depends on eggs rather than starch to give the filling body. They're combined with evaporated milk, which is creamier and more viscous than fresh milk because half of the water content has been removed. The pie bakes until the edges appear set and the middle is still jiggly; the filling will continue to thicken as it cools.

Easy Chocolate Mousse Pie Recipe From Erin Jeanne McDowell - TODAY

Chef notes

This pie is incredibly easy to make — and a crowd-pleasing showstopper at that. The ease starts with a foolproof cookie-crumb crust, which takes just a few minutes to prepare, and a short bake in the oven. The filling is the simplest kind of mousse — it's made by adding melted chocolate into light and airy whipped cream, which creates that signature light-as-air texture. But this pie boasts a secret ingredient — cream cheese — which acts as a natural stabilizer to this pie. Mousse is usually quite delicate but the inclusion of cream cheese means that this pie will be easy to bring on-the-go to a potluck, a picnic or anywhere you might want to serve a towering chocolate pie. The filling is also set in the refrigerator, which means it doesn't require any baking and is extra-friendly for when you don't feel like turning the oven on for long.

Technique Tip: Be sure to use just freshly melted chocolate for the filling — if you let it cool too much, it will be prone to firming up and will be harder to mix. The pie is best finished with — you guessed it — even more whipped cream. You can spoon the whipped cream onto the pie, or pipe it around the edge. Feel free to use a large round or star piping tip to pipe the whipped cream if you're feeling fancy. Or, you can go the super simple route and just dollop the whipped cream on top of each slice as you serve it.

Preparation

Make the Cookie Crust:

Preheat the oven to 350 F with an oven rack set in the center.

In a medium bowl, stir the cookie crumbs and salt together to combine. Add the butter and mix until evenly combined.

Press the crumb mixture evenly into the base and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. There should be enough crumbs to have a rim around the outer edge of the pie plate. Transfer the crust to the oven and bake until it smells toasty, 12 to15 minutes. Cool the crust completely before proceeding.

Make the Chocolate Mousse Filling:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whip the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.

Scrape the bowl well. With the mixer running on medium-low speed, add about a third of the heavy cream in a slow, steady stream, then whip until the mixture begins to thicken. Add the remaining cream in a slow, steady stream, then whip on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

With the mixer running on medium-low speed, add the warm chocolate and mix until well combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl well, and mix again until evenly combined, 30 seconds to 1 minute more.

Scoop the filling into the cooled crust — it may be higher than the edge of the crust. If so, use a spatula to mound the filling in the center more, sloping down to the edges of the crust. Cover the filling directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Finish and Decorate the Pie:

Using a stand mixer, electric hand mixer, or a large bowl and a whisk, whip the cream and sugar to medium peaks. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.

When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap from the pie. Spoon, spread or pipe the whipped cream on top of the pie (see headnote) — or just serve it on the side. If using, decorate with fresh fruit.

The Best Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Is Made With Tofu

Surely you don't have an anti-tofu bias, but if you do, you should knock it off and stop robbing yourself of possibilities and pleasure. I initially made this pie for two reasons: I wanted dessert, and I was increasing my protein intake. Think of this as a protein-forward pie if that gives you the strength to try a tofu-based dessert, but it really doesn't need such framing.

This pie allowed me to sneak in more grams to meet my goals but, protein-shmotein, I don't think I want to make the "regular" chocolate peanut butter pie ever again. Not only is this pie ridiculously chocolatey, and velvety smooth, but the filling is significantly easier than any other no-bake chocolate pie I've ever encountered.

The filling takes all of two steps to make, and the flavor is incredible. This is all it takes to make me happy. You don't have to make a pudding that could easily become lumpy with overcooked eggs or pasty with cornstarch. The filling is never hot, so it won't melt the fat in your crust and leave you with a weepy bottom after chilling. The dark chocolate flavor is intense and bitter with just enough sweetness to round it out before the rewarding peanut butter finish.

The crust is open to interpretation. In the recipe below, you'll find my almond-oat crust (just another protein opportunity), but you can use a browned butter graham cracker crust, cookie crust, a store-bought crust, or a flaky homemade one. Do not mistake this as a "health food." It's just good food.

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

This filling sets in the fridge, so there's no oven time once the crust is filled. Regardless of the type you choose, you should blind-bake the crust beforehand. A flaky, flour-based crust will require a full blind baking situation, with weights, but a crumb crust, or the almond-oat crust below, doesn't capture air the same way. You can pop it in the oven to solidify and brown without any weights, and there won't be any puffing or drastic shrinkage. To make the crust, thoroughly combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, then press the mixture into the pie dish using the flat bottom of a glass or a measuring cup to smooth it out. Bake in a 350°F oven for 10-12 minutes, or until it looks dry and just barely takes on some color.

Almond-oat crust, pre-bake. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

While the crust cools, make the filling. Melt the dark chocolate. I did this in the microwave, stirring every 15-30 seconds. Make sure the tofu is room temperature. Since chocolate is solid at cool temperatures, using fridge-cold tofu might cause some of the chocolate to harden on contact. To quickly warm your tofu, submerge the whole package in a bowl of hot water for 15 minutes, replacing the water if it cools down. Add all of the filling ingredients except for the melted chocolate to a food processor and blend. Scrape down the sides of the processor. Add the warm chocolate, and blend again. Scrape the sides once more, and blend for a final 10 seconds. Scrape the filling into the crust and smooth the top. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour before slicing and serving.

After the final blend, the chocolate pie filling is ready. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

The pie slices like a dream. The silken tofu provides a luscious texture, while the melted chocolate delivers flavor and a sturdy consistency once set. It is so rich and chocolate-dense, you'll never need another chocolate pie recipe again. If you have nut allergies, you can choose a different crust and leave out the peanut powder; it won't negatively impact the filling. You can top this beauty with a heap of whipped cream and chocolate shavings, but it is pure decadence when served on its own. For a quick crustless fix, you can even pour the filling into small ramekins or glasses, and serve them as individual mousse cups.

What do you think so far? Protein-forward Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Ingredients for almond-oat crust: Ingredients for chocolate peanut butter filling:

16 ounces silken tofu, room temperature

¼ cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons peanut powder (I use PBfit pure peanut)

12 ounces dark chocolate chips, melted (I used 72% dark chocolate)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

To make the crust, thoroughly combine all of the crust ingredients in a medium bowl. It will look clumpy. Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate, using the flat bottom of a cup or a measuring cup to press and smooth the crust. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until it just begins to brown. Set aside to cool.

Prepare the filling. Combine the silken tofu, honey, vanilla, salt, and peanut butter powder in a food processor. Blend for about 10-20 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the processor where the honey or powder might have gotten stuck. Add the melted chocolate and blend again for another 10-20 seconds. The mixture should look very smooth and chocolatey already. Scrape down the sides and blend for a final 10 seconds or so. Scrape the filling into the cooled pie crust, and smooth out the top. Put the pie in the fridge to set for at least an hour before serving.

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