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Chocolate Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

Yield: 8 Slices (9-inch pie)
Prep Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

Crust:

  • 1 ½ cups (150 g) graham cracker crumbs, about 13 rectangle graham crackers
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons (85 g) salted butter, melted (add a pinch of salt to the mixture if using unsalted butter)

Pudding Layer:

  • 3 tablespoons (21 g) cocoa powder
  • ¾ cup (159 g) brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup (50 g) cornstarch
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups milk (see note)
  • 1 cup (170 g) semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 ounces (85 g) cream cheese, softened
  • ⅔ cup heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ cup (29 g) powdered sugar

Whipped Cream Topping:

  • 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ cup (29 g) powdered sugar

Optional Garnishes:

  • Chocolate curls, sprinkled toffee bits, dusting of cocoa powder, etc.

Instructions 

  • For the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter until evenly mixed. Press the mixture in the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake the crust for 8 minutes. Remove and let cool completely. Cover with saran wrap until ready to use (this can be made several days in advance if kept well-covered).
  • For the pudding layer, in a medium saucepan, whisk together the cocoa powder, brown sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add the milk and whisk to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  • Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to whisk as the mixture comes to a boil and large bubbles break across the surface and the mixture has thickened.
  • Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Scrape the pudding into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface. Refrigerate until chilled and set up (2-3 hours).
  • In a blender or an electric stand mixer (or with an electric hand mixer), whip the 3 ounces cream cheese, 2/3 cup cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar together until thick and creamy. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold this mixture into the chilled chocolate pudding until combined.
  • Evenly spread the pudding mixture into the prepared graham cracker crust. At this point you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 days (the crust will get slightly soft if it's made in advance but it is still delicious) or go ahead and top with the whipped cream mixture and refrigerate for an hour (up to 4 hours) before serving.
  • For the whipped cream layer, whip the 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar together until soft peaks form. Gently spread the whipped cream over the top of the pie and garnish with chocolate curls, sprinkled toffee bits, a dusting of cocoa powder - or whatever your heart desires. Serve chilled.

Notes

Milk: I've only ever used 2% or whole milk for this recipe. The pudding will be less thick/creamy if using lower fat milk than that.