Enjoy this delightful Chocolate Pudding Pie recipe! This luscious dessert combines a rich, creamy chocolate pudding filling with a flaky, buttery crust, creating the perfect balance of sweetness and indulgence.
Whether you're hosting a gathering or simply craving a delightful treat, this recipe is sure to satisfy your chocolate cravings. Get ready to experience the ultimate dessert!
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this
Smooth Pudding
Our chocolate pudding filling is made with the finest quality cocoa, resulting in a velvety smooth texture that melts in your mouth balanced by the smooth fluffiness of the cream topping.
Irresistible Chocolate Flavor
Indulge in the intense, deep chocolate flavor that permeates every bite of our pie. Each slice offers a symphony of cocoa notes that will captivate your taste buds and leave you in chocolatey bliss.
Ingredients and substitutions for Chocolate Pudding Pie
- Plain flour: This is the best option for that flaky pastry. Cake flour is not recommended here and if you live in the UK, see the FAQ's section as to a the type of flour to use here.
- Butter: Unsalted cold and cubed helps you press it into your flour without heating it up too much as you work it. Make sure that butter is fully coated with flour so no puddles form during baking.
- Ice water: Ice water helps give our pastry that flaky texture!
- Milk: Whole milk was used here, however, you could definitely replace in any creamy dairy free milk.
- Egg yolks: They help give a deep custard flavor to our pudding and contribute to the velvety texture.
- Sugar: Superfine or caster sugar works best in the pudding as it dissoves and adds sweetness without adding additional flavor. You could substitute with raw or light brown sugar instead.
- Cocoa powder: High quality plain cocoa powder is used to really give that intense chocolate flavor.
- Corn starch: Sometimes termed cornflour in certain parts of the globe. Corn starch is what gives our pudding that thick texture without being runny. It needs to be heated to 95C/203F before it is activated to thicken.
- Chocolate: Dark chocolate helps deepen the chocolate flavor and coat the pastry base without making the pie too sweet or soggy. You could substitute with milk chocolate in equal measure.
- Heavy cream: Homemade whipped cream is best here for freshness and control over your cream topping. You could subsititute with whipped coconut cream.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Chocolate Pudding Pie:
Make the dough: Stir the flour and salt together and add the cold cubed butter.
Rub: Rub the and toss the butter into the flour to ensure it’s coated and no pieces are smaller than peas.
1
Ice ice water: Add in the ice water and stir to form the dough.
Press and shape: Press the dough together ensuring no dry portions remain in the base of your bowl and shape into a disc.
Cover and refrigerate: Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Roll it out: Roll the dough out, shaping to your pie dish and trimming the edges.
2
Shape and chill: Shape the pastry edges (this one is a rope edge). Return to the fridge for 20 minutes to chill.
3
Pierce and bake: Pierce the pie crust, fill with baking beans and bake until golden.
Remove the beans: Remove the baking beans and bake for a further 10 minutes until golden. Remove and cool.
Melty chocolate coating: Place a portion of the roughly chopped chocolate on the warm pastry until it melts and smooth out to coat the entire base.
4
Warm milk: Heat the milk until lightly bubbly.
Sugared yolks: Whisk those sugar and yolk until pale.
Cocoa: The cocoa and cornstarch are added to make a smooth paste.
5
Chocolate milk: The warm milk is added in batches to combine with the cocoa mixture until smooth.
6
Chocolate custard: The milk and chopped chocolate are heated in a saucepan, stirring until the pudding has thickened to a thick custard consistency.
Pour: Pour the chocolate custard into your pie pastry.
Chill: Place the pudding pie into the fridge to chill.
Cream topping: Whip the cream until soft peaks and spoon on top.
7
Slice and serve: Slice it up and serve it up.
Enjoy: Dig in!
Equipment needed to make this
Mixing bowl: You'll need a medium mixing bowl for both the pastry and the pudding before cooking it.
Rolling pin: A rolling pin will help you achieve a nice consistent pastry, however, you could substitute a wine bottle for similar results.
Pie dish: The pie dish used here is 18 cm / 7 inch which is around average, though a substitute would be a deep tart tin.
Greaseproof paper: To line your pastry before filling with baking beans.
Baking beans: Baking beans help keep your help to keep the pastry in shape as it bakes. Uncooked rice is a great substitute, but make sure you have sufficient to come right up to the edges of your crust.
Sieve: Sifting the cornstarch and cocoa powder helps ensure your pudding is smooth without any lumps.
Saucepan: A small or medium saucepan will help you cook the pudding to thicken for that filling.
Hand or stand mixer: To whip that cream, however, it can also be done by hand.
FAQ's for the best Chocolate Pudding Pie
Plain flour in the UK has a lower protein amount which contributes to the dough strength, type of crumb and texture of your pastry, in this case. Plain flour in the Unites States for example has the same level of protein as Bread flour in the UK so the best flour to use here will be 175 grams / 1 ¼ cups bread flour. This will help you ensure a flaky pastry and making it easier to shape without being flimsy which is often the feeling of unbaked dough.
You can if you are short on time with shortcrust pastry being the best option to substitute for homemade flaky pastry.
The key here is to use cornstarch or flour which helps thicken the pudding up and keep it that way once it has cooled. Both cornstarch and flour need to be heated to 60C/140F to activate that thickening power.
Absolutely! One of the wonderful things about this chocolate pudding pie recipe is its versatility. You can get creative with toppings to add your own personal touch. From whipped cream and chocolate shavings to fresh berries and ice cream, the possibilities are endless.
Yes, you can! Our chocolate pudding pie can be prepared in advance, allowing you to save time and be better organized for your gathering. This is a great make ahead without the cream topping and can remain perfect for up to 2 days before serving, however, once the cream topping has been added, you will want to serve it up within 4 hours. You'll have a fantastic dessert ready to impress your guests without the stress of last-minute preparations.
More dessert pies you'll love
Chocolate Pudding Pie
Ingredients
Pastry
- 150 grams / 1 ¼ cups plain flour
- ¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
- 110 grams / 3.9 ounces butter chilled and cubed
- 62 milliliters / ¼ cup ice water
Chocolate pudding
- 500 milliliters / 2 cups milk
- 55 grams / 3 large egg yolks
- 100 grams / ½ cup superfine/caster sugar
- 56 grams / ½ cup cocoa powder
- 25 grams / ¼ cup cornflour
- 70 grams / 2.46 ounces chocolate roughly chopped
Cream topping
- 310 milliliters / 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
- 35 grams / 2 ½ tablespoons superfine/caster sugar
Instructions
Pastry
- For the dough, place the flour and salt into a bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the cubed butter and toss through the flour to coat completely in flour.
- Press each cube between your fingers to thin out and continue tossing through the flour, trying to ensure the butter becomes no smaller than the size of peas.
- Add in a little of the ice water and stir to combine, continuing 1 tablespoon at a time until a dough forms, but ensuring it’s not too sticky, but that there are no dry portions in the base of the bowl.
- Press firmly into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 220C/425F.
- Lightly flour your surface and both sides of your dough and roll out to ¼ inch thickness.
- Flipping the dough and adding a small sprinkle of flour, where necessary.?Roll the dough around your rolling pin and place into your pie dish.
- Pressing therein and trimming the edges, folding ½ inch of the dough under the edges and pinching firmly.
- Shape your edges by holding your left index finger against the edge of the pastry and press down towards the edge of your pie dish.
- Return the dough to the fridge for 20 minutes to chill.
- Remove, pierce with a fork all over and lay greaseproof paper to cover the entire pastry.
- Fill with baking beans or rice right up to the edges of your crust.
- Bake for 20 minutes until the edges are golden, remove the baking beans and continue to bake until golden all over, approximately 10 further minutes.
- Remove and whilst warm, sprinkle over 20 grams / 2 tablespoons of the chopped chocolate, allowing it to melt before spreading it over the base of your pastry. Set aside to cool fully.
Chocolate pudding
- For the chocolate pudding filling, heat the milk in a saucepan on low until a light simmer begins to form on the edges of your saucepan.
- Meanwhile, place the sugar and eggs into a bowl and whisk until pale and combined.
- Sift the cornflour and cocoa powder into the eggs and whisk until well combined and smooth.
- Slowly add in ¼ of the hot milk to the cocoa mixture and whisk to combine until smooth.
- Repeat with the milk in batches until it has all been added to the chocolate and whisk until fully combined.
- Pour the chocolate milk mixture to the heat and increase to medium, sprinkle in the 50 grams / 1.76 ounces roughly chopped chocolate and whisk as the pudding thickens to ensure it remains smooth and doesn’t burn to the bottom or sides of your saucepan.
- Once thickened enough to stick to the back of a spoon, pour into your pastry and jiggle in the pie dish to smooth out the top.
- Place in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.
- For the topping, place the heavy cream and sugar into a bowl and whip until soft peaks form.
- Spoon on top of the pudding and shape to your preference.
- Sprinkle over a little cocoa powder or fine chocolate pieces.
- Slice and plate em up.
- Dig in and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Cocoa powder: High quality plain cocoa powder is used to really give that chocolate flavor intensity.
- Chocolate: Dark chocolate helps deepen the chocolate flavor and coat the pastry base without making the pie too sweet or soggy. You could substitute with milk chocolate in equal measure.
- Heavy cream: Homemade whipped cream is best here for freshness and control over your cream topping. You could substitute with whipped coconut cream.
- Setting your pudding: The key here is to use cornstarch or flour which helps thicken the pudding up and keep it that way once it has cooled. Both cornstarch and flour need to be heated to 60C/140F to activate that thickening power.
- You can substitute with store-bought pastry: You can if you are short on time with shortcrust pastry being the best option to substitute for homemade flaky pastry.
- Make ahead of time: This is a great make ahead without the cream topping and can remain perfect for up to 2 days before serving, however, once the cream topping has been added, you will want to serve it up within 4 hours.
Nutrition
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