Let me tell ya something. This blogging community is incredible. I’ve been very lucky to meet some wonderful friends through blogging and one of my dear friends, Julianne of Beyond Frosting, launched her debut cookbook earlier this summer: No Bake Treats.
No Bake Treats is, without a doubt, one of my most loved cookbooks and I’ve only had it for a few months! How unique to have a dessert cookbook dedicated to NOT using the oven?! It’s been wonderful to bake from, errrr, make from this miserably hot summer. Julianne’s effortless, yet downright mouthwatering recipes inspired me to give icebox cakes a try and I even tested out her tiramisu pudding cake (on page 92!) the other week. Needless to say, I’m addicted to this book.
The latest recipe I tried is something I’ve gotta share with you. A lot of you have requested a chocolate pudding pie recipe and while there’s a mint chocolate pudding pie in Sally’s Candy Addiction, I’ve never really walked you through the steps of making one here on my blog. Perfect opportunity to showcase Julianne’s talent while stuffing our faces with homemade chocolate pudding.
Sit back, relax, and grab your whisk.
Always a fan of texture, I especially love the crunchy and toasty graham cracker crust underneath the silky and smooth chocolate pudding layer. Talk about a dream pie. Julianne’s recipe doesn’t call for pre-baking the crust but I love the toasty flavor it gets from a few minutes in the oven, so I pre-baked mine. So… yes. You will need your oven if you pre-bake it like I did, but it’s only for a few minutes.
This is a super thick and buttery crust. If graham cracker crusts are your thing, you’re going to fall in love with this pie as much as I did. And the crust is two ingredients: graham cracker crumbs and melted butter.
You could use an Oreo cookie crust instead if you’d like. See recipe Note below.
Now that the crust is prepped, let’s chat about the homemade pudding. There are many ways to make pudding. You can go to the store and buy a box of pudding or you can go to the stove and whisk pudding together in 10 minutes. Both are very tasty, but the homemade route just warms the soul, doesn’t it? Homemade pudding is so comforting! Chocolate pudding is only made with a few ingredients, but each ingredient is imperative in the final texture and taste. You’ll need gelatin, sugar for sweetness, flour for thickening. Milk because it’s milk and you definitely need milk in pudding and chocolate of course too. I suggest using a dark or bittersweet chocolate. If semi-sweet or milk chocolate, your pudding will be very sweet and all you’ll taste is sugar with a small side of chocolate. We REALLY want this pie to taste chocolate-y! I simply used a bittersweet chocolate bar, but dark chocolate chips would work well too.
Oh! And egg yolks for structure, thickening, and richness. Now about the egg yolks: they are tempered. Meaning you will slowly pour a little of the warm mixture from the pot (the milk, sugar, gelatin) into the beaten egg yolks, then slowly pour that back into the pot. It’s the same process we use to make mocha chocolate pudding pie. You’re tempering them so your pudding doesn’t turn into scrambled chocolate eggs. Caaaaaan you imagine. This process helps the pudding set so you can get clean slices of pie—it’s more sturdy than chocolate dirt pudding.
Besides that, making pudding just requires some whisking. If you know how to whisk, you know how to make homemade pudding.
Pour the pudding into the crust, then chill it for a few hours to set.
Next up? The topping. Oh my heavens the topping!
The topping is whipped cream: plain, lightly sweet, and homemade! Whip it until stiff peaks form, then spread the whole thing over the chilled pudding center. The whipped cream is billowy and soft, the perfect compliment to the crunchy crust and rich chocolate pudding underneath. Julianne tops her pudding pie with chocolate shavings but I had some raspberries to use up so I dotted them all over the top. Mint for pretty color too, of course.
This is such a simple dessert! No frills, complications, or over-the-top craziness (looking at you, BROOKIE) yet completely delectable and refined with 3 glorious layers that’ll knock your socks off. Pie goals. 🙂
Julianne’s cookbook, with 80 exclusive no-bake dessert recipes, can be found on Amazon or wherever books are sold. Happy (NO) baking!
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Homemade Chocolate Pudding Pie
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 8-10
- Category: Pie
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
The most luxurious chocolate pudding pie on a buttery graham cracker crust. Made from scratch and so simple!
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups (240g) graham cracker crumbs (about 16 full sheets)
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) cold water
- 1 teaspoon gelatin
- 2 cups (480ml) whole milk
- 2/3 cup (130g) granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (23g) all-purpose flour
- 6 ounces (170g) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped*
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream/heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup (30g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional: fresh berries, chocolate shavings, or fresh mint for topping
Instructions
- Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together until completely combined. Press tightly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Bake crust for 8-10 minutes and let cool completely.
- Make the pudding: It’s best to measure out all of the pudding ingredients before beginning because you will need to move quickly. Whisk the egg yolks together in a bowl. Set aside. Whisk the cold water and gelatin together in a medium saucepan. Allow to sit for 2 minutes to slightly thicken, then turn the stove on to medium-low heat and place the saucepan on top. Whisk in the milk, sugar, and flour. Whisk aggressively to dissolve the sugar, then slowly whisk as the mixture heats.
- When the mixture is warm and slowly simmering (not boiling!), slowly drizzle about 1/4 cup (60ml) of it into the beaten egg yolks while whisking it all together. The point of the slow pour and the whisking is to temper the egg yolks. Once the 1/4 cup is added, very slowly pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan. Whisk it all together as the mixture begins to thicken. Once bubbles begin to burst at the surface, whisk in the chopped chocolate until combined. Whisk for about 1 more minute as the pudding continues to thicken and bubble. Remove the pudding from heat. If you notice lumps, you can strain the pudding through a fine sieve, but that’s optional.
- Pour pudding into the prepared pie crust. Immediately cover the top of the pudding with clear plastic wrap (directly on the surface of the pudding). Allow pudding pie to cool for 1 hour at room temperature before putting into the refrigerator to chill. Refrigerate for 4 hours and up to 24 hours until the pudding has completely set.
- Make the whipped cream:Â Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Remove plastic wrap from chilled pie and spread or pipe the whipped cream on top. Garnish with optional toppings. Slice and serve.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: The entire pie can be prepared and assembled up to 1 day in advance. I do not recommend freezing the pudding pie.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | 9-inch Pie Dish | Whisk | Medium Saucepan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand)
- Chocolate: For best flavor, use a dark or bittersweet chocolate. I used 6 ounces of Baker’s bittersweet chocolate baking squares (66% cacao). Found in the baking aisle by the chocolate chips.
- Crust: Baking the crust is optional. Julianne does not bake it in the book. She uses a springform pan, which helps the crust stay intact when cutting. I like a toasty flavor, so I bake mine. You could also use an Oreo cookie crust and for that, I do recommend baking for 8-10 minutes.
- Excerpted from No Bake Treats: Incredible Unbaked Cheesecakes, Icebox Cakes, Pies and More by Julianne Bayer. Copyright © 2016. Reprinted with permission from Page Street Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
I really like this recipe. Why do some recipes call for mixing all ingredients together and then heating g and some have you do the egg tempering method. Is there an advantage for one way over another.
Hi Kenna, I find this way produces a smoother, thicker pudding.
If you are just making the pudding and not the pie part do you have to let the pudding sit at room temp before refrigerating?
Yes, I would still let it sit at room temperature. Probably not totally necessary, but it does help prevent the pudding from developing a little “crust” on top (as does pressing plastic wrap directly on the surface).
Followed the recipe exactly despite much internal debate over pie crust vs. graham cracker, add a little this or that… I’m glad I didn’t mess with it. Served with fresh berries. Turned out perfect! Thank you!
So SO GOOD!! Making the homemade pudding was so worth it!!
Hi Sally! I made this last week and it was DELICIOUS! Question about the crust. Thoughts on a shortbread crust? To me that sounds delicious. Do you have one to recommend?
Hi Paul, so glad you enjoyed this one! You could give it a try with the shortbread crust from our lemon blueberry tart. Let us know if you do!
Thanks Lexi! Since this is a no bake recipe, how long should I bake the shortbread crust for?
Hi Paul! We’re unsure how long the shortbread crust will take to bake without a filling – we would start checking around 20 minutes. You want it to be light golden brown. Let us know what you try!
I made the pie crust and whipped cream using these recipes (used a different recipe for the chocolate pudding). Pie crust and whipped cream were outstanding (blind baking for 8 minutes really gave the crust a boost of flavor!). Whipped cream was perfect—not too sweet and held its form really well (made an extra batch to go with a chocolate cake). Thank you again for sharing your recipes!
Oh my gosh, this pie is Amazing! I added 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon to the crust and used semi sweet chocolate and WOW! I got nothing but rave reviews! Best part was it was a last minute bake, I had all the ingredients. Made it in the morning and served it at an impromptu get together tonight. This will be my go to recipe this summer!
To celebrate Pi day yesterday, I made the filling from this recipe and poured it into a pre-baked Sally’s Buttery Flaky Pie Crust. I didn’t have bittersweet chocolate so I used 4 oz. semi-sweet and 2 oz. unsweetened Baker’s bars. It was still delicious, and I loved the pie crust rather than graham crackers. The flavor was great, the texture was super smooth, and the pie slices held their shape beautifully! I’ll definitely be making this again!
I made it yesterday and it’s gone today so it’s a hit! So easy! I used Sally’s regular graham cracker crust and put a splash of vanilla in the filling. I may have to make another one tomorrow.
I made this for my in-laws’ Thanksgiving dinner last year because my 9-year-old son loves chocolate, and this recipe sounded perfect. I did not use any toppings like chocolate shavings or berries, so it looked very unassuming, and did not get the ooh’s and ah’s that my sister-in-laws’ pies get. But, guess which pie was the only one completely gone by the end of the night? Yep, this one! It quietly disappeared very quickly. It was delicious!
Hi Sally; excited to try this recipe; does the pie need to chill before adding the whipped cream? Or can it all be chilled for the recommended amount of time together?
Hi Rawan, It’s best to chill the pie as directed in step 4 before adding the whipped cream. Enjoy!
So I made this pudding but I didn’t have bittersweet chocolate. I substituted the 6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate with 4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate and added an additional 8 tablespoons of sugar and it came out wonderful! Thank you Sally for yet another amazing recipe!
Do you think it’s possible to double the pudding recipe and make 2 pies? Or is this one of those recipes it would be better to make twice? Thanks!
Hi Leigh, for this recipe it’s best to make the filling twice!
This pie is amazing! The pudding is rich, smooth and creamy while the crust is perfectly buttery! I love everything Sally makes and this is one of my new favorite recipes! Huge hit.
Hi Sally! Thank you so much for this recipe!! I’ve tried other homemade pudding pie recipes before. Your recipe is the best!! I love how the gelatin keeps the pudding creamy yet firm enough to hold the shape when sliced! I added a pinch of salt, instant espresso and a pat of butter. So good!
Hi Sally, when do I remove the cling wrap from the pie? Its chilling in the fridge overnight right now. Cant wait to try this delicous looking pie!
Hi Peggy! I must have missed this question the other day, my apologies! Remove the plastic wrap after the pie has chilled and right before you garnish/serve it.
Just made this for my dad’s birthday (he requested a “simple” pie) and it was delicious! It was super rich and chocolate-y, and was the perfect amount of sweetness! I did use 4 oz bittersweet and 2 oz semisweet but the pie was definitely not too sweet! I also decided to use half heavy cream and half whole milk to make things richer, but honestly it was almost too rich! It tasted more like a chocolate tart so if that’s up your alley, then go for it. Next time I’ll try all whole milk to see if that’s more pudding-like. Overall, it was a hit and is fun and quick to make too!
Hi Sally! I don’t mean to be repetitive if others have already asked, but I had to throw this out there. I’m normally not a dark chocolate love. With the exception of some super sweet dark chocolate- raspberry squares, it’s just too bitter for my taste. That being said, your recipes are usually perfect, so I’m tempted to take a chance on this anyway. Would you say this pie have a dark chocolate flavor or bitterness?
Hi Ashlee! I honestly don’t think this pudding is bitter/too dark. It’s just very rich and chocolate-y. There’s enough sugar to sweeten it up.
Looks great! Any sub for the gelatin? Can I just leave it out?Â
The gelatin helps to firm up the pudding, I wouldn’t skip it.