Featuring an Oreo crust, smooth chocolate mousse, and fresh whipped cream, each bite of chocolate mousse pie is irresistible! You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how simple this towering beauty is to prepare. Be sure to check out my recipe notes for make-ahead instructions—this is a wonderful recipe to prepare 1–2 days in advance.
While it may look like a skyscraper of complicated steps, this sky high chocolate mousse pie only requires a few. Everything is made completely from scratch, but you’ll be happy to know none of that work is fussy. It just takes a little patience and I encourage you to read through the recipe before starting. I include lots of step photos and a video tutorial for recipe success. Let’s get started!
There Are 3 Parts to Chocolate Mousse Pie
- Oreo Cookie Crust
- Chocolate Mousse (chocolate + meringue + whipped cream)
- Whipped Cream Topping
Oreo Cookie Crust
An Oreo cookie crust is the perfect chocolatey base for our chocolate mousse pie. It’s the same exact crust we use for cookies & cream pie, mocha chocolate pudding pie, and caramel turtle brownie pie. Made from Oreos crushed into crumbs and melted butter, this crust comes together easily. Make sure to use the whole Oreo when crushing them—both the chocolate cookies and the cream center. The cream center adds a delicious sweetness and also helps keep the crust together.
Bake the crust so it stays sturdy and intact. Let it cool completely before topping with chocolate mousse. To save time, make the crust the night before. Or stick the crust in the freezer to cool down in a flash!
Chocolate Mousse
There are 3 parts to chocolate mousse: chocolate (of course!), a marshmallow meringue, and whipped cream. Let’s review each component.
- Chocolate: When I tested this recipe for the first time, I used semi-sweet chocolate and found the mousse to be overly sweet. Reducing the sugar isn’t an option as it’s needed for the meringue, so unsweetened chocolate is the easy answer. Test recipe #2 with unsweetened chocolate was much better! Melt the chocolate with some butter and set aside. (I have an entire blog post dedicated to baking with chocolate if you’re interested.)
- Marshmallow Meringue: We combine a sweet whipped meringue that’s also known as homemade marshmallow creme with the melted chocolate.
- Whipped Cream: To add volume and a delightful texture, fold in whipped cream.
These 3 items make the chocolate mousse. If you skip the pie and just eat the mousse, I totally will not judge. It’s light-as-air and remarkable with nothing more than a spoon.
This is the meringue. ↑
This is folding the meringue into the melted chocolate. ↓
This is adding the whipped cream to make chocolate mousse. ↓
Dome that chocolate mousse so that it’s sky high in the center of the pie. This is easy and requires zero skill or special tools—you just need a rubber spatula to spread it around and shape into a mound. Don’t forget to layer in some extra Oreo crumbs!
Whipped Cream
You’ll make two batches of whipped cream. One batch to fold into the mousse—simply whipped heavy cream—and one sweetened batch that we use as the third and final layer of today’s chocolate mousse pie. I use my favorite whipped cream recipe for the topping—made with a little sugar and vanilla for extra flavor. I like to keep the whipped cream topping on the softer side. Spread it all over the top!
Check out this towering beauty! It’s mega creamy with a satisfying Oreo crunch. Add some chocolate curls, chocolate sprinkles, more Oreo crumbs, or even fresh raspberries or raspberry sauce to really jazz things up. Place the pie in the refrigerator for a few hours to chill before digging in.
My #1 success tip? Read through the recipe in full before beginning.
See Your Sky High Chocolate Mousse Pies!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
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Sky High Chocolate Mousse Pie
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours, 40 minutes
- Yield: serves 8-10
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Learn how to make sky high chocolate mousse pie with this easy tutorial and delicious recipe!
Ingredients
Oreo Crust
- 22 regular Oreo cookies (not Double-Stuf)
- 5 Tablespoons (71g)Â unsalted butter, melted
Chocolate Mousse Layer
- two 4-ounce (113g) bars unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (8 ounces/226g total)
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 4 large egg whites* (120g)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar*
- 2 cups (480ml/g) heavy cream/heavy whipping cream
- 6 whole Oreos, crushed into crumbs (66g)
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup (240ml/g) heavy cream/heavy whipping cream
- 1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional: chocolate curls or shavings for topping*
Instructions
- Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). In a food processor or blender, pulse 22 Oreos (including the cream filling) into a fine crumb. You should have about 2 cups (packed) crumbs, or 250g. Pour crumbs into a large bowl. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. The mixture will be thick and quite wet. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 9-inch pie dish. With medium pressure using your hand, pat the crumbs down into the bottom and up the sides to make a compact, thick crust. Bake for 10 minutes, and then cool completely.
- Make the chocolate mousse layer: Microwave the chopped chocolate and butter together in a large heat-proof bowl, stopping and stirring every 20 seconds until completely melted. Set aside.
- Make the meringue for the mousse layer: Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl. Set bowl over a saucepan filled with 2 inches of simmering water. Do not let the bowl touch the water. (You can use a double boiler if you have one.) Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved, about 4 minutes. Whisking constantly, cook the egg mixture until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture reaches 160°F (71°C) on an instant-read thermometer. Transfer the mixture to the mixing bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on high speed for 5–6 minutes until soft, glossy peaks form. See photo above for a visual. Gently fold mixture into the chocolate. Wash the mixer bowl and whisk attachment clean.
- Make the whipped cream for the mousse layer: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the 2 cups of heavy cream on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 4-5 minutes. Gently fold whipped cream into the chocolate/egg white mixture. Do not overmix; it will deflate the mousse. (No need to wash or wipe the bowl/whisk attachment clean—you’ll make sweetened whipped cream in step 6.)
- Spread 1/2 of the mousse into cooled pie crust. Top with Oreo crumbs. (The 6 whole Oreos crushed into crumbs!) Top with remaining chocolate mousse, mounding in the center to create a dome shape. Place in the refrigerator for 5 minutes as you prepare the whipped cream topping.
- Make the whipped cream topping: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the 1 cup of heavy cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla on high speed until slightly stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes. You want the peaks to be somewhat soft so the whipped cream spreads nicely on the mousse. Remove pie from the refrigerator and spread whipped cream on top—once again keeping that dome shape in the center.
- Top with chocolate shavings, if using. Refrigerate pie uncovered for at least 4–5 hours or overnight. Slice and serve. Usually the 1st slice isn’t as beautiful as the 2nd! It’s easier to cut after you have 1 slice out.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Since this pie needs to chill for several hours or overnight, it’s perfect for making 1-2 days ahead of time. Gently cover if refrigerating longer for 1 day. You can freeze the pie for up to 3 months, but it won’t be quite as beautiful. Freezing leftovers is a great idea—simply allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before enjoying. Or enjoy frozen!
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) |Â Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk |Â Saucepan | 9-Inch Glass Pie Dish | Food Processor (for Oreo crust)
- Pie Crust: Feeling ambitious? Try a traditional pie crust instead and follow the instructions in this How to Blind Bake Pie Crust post. Baked pie crust/shell must cool completely before adding the chocolate mousse filling.
- Egg Whites: The egg whites are gently cooked in step 3 to 160°F (71°C). Which is considered safe to eat. You can use a candy thermometer to determine their temperature. You can use pasteurized egg whites, though keep in mind they may never reach the volume of unpasteurized egg whites.
- Cream of Tartar: Key for stabilizing those egg whites.
- Chocolate Curls: Here’s how to make chocolate curls, or you can run a vegetable peeler down the long side of a Hershey’s milk chocolate bar. Carefully place curls on top of whipped cream, if desired. So easy. Chocolate sprinkles, fresh raspberries, or more Oreo crumbs work just as well!
- Adapted from Bon Appetit.
Hello! Is it okay to use semi-sweet chocolate instead of unsweetened chocolate?
Hi Erin, we don’t recommend it for this recipe. You’d need to adjust the amount of sugar, but I’m not sure how much to reduce it.
I looked it up: to substitute semisweet chocolate for unsweetened chocolate, reduce the sugar in that step (1 cup here) by 1 Tablespoon for every ounce of chocolate that you are substituting. I had 4 oz of unsweetened and 4 oz of semisweet, so I reduced the sugar by 4 TBS.
Is it okay to double the recipe?
Hi Nicole, For the best results we recommend making two separate pies.
This looks delicious! Could I use it in a layered cake? This looks sturdier than the mousse and I need it to hold up. Thanks!
Yes, absolutely!
Would you say this recipe makes a light and fluffy/airy mousse? The picture that made me click on it looks fluffy but when I watch the video it looks heavy and more dense. I’m looking for something that’s not too rich! Thank you!
Hi Deanna, it’s supposed to be on the lighter side. The video one got a little dense!
This was amazing! I used semisweet chocolate because I didn’t read the recipe carefully enough and used lemon juice as I didn’t have cream of tartar. Will definitely make this again. It’s divine!
I’ve made the Chocolate Silk Pie and it was great! I’m looking to make a chocolate pie that would include Frangelico. Could Frangelico be added to this chocolate mousse pie? If so, how much?
Hi Pat, we haven’t tested this recipe with Frangelico or another liqueur, but you could try adding just a tablespoon or 2. We’d caution against adding much more than that, for fear the mousse won’t set the same way. Let us know if you do any experimenting!
Dear Sally, I come to you with a quite specific question. As an adamant lover of all your recipes, I truly steer clear of changing ingredients or instructions and completely trust your process. However, I am currently trying to create a smooth and silky pistachio cream pie for my friend’s 30 birthday and living in Italy, I would like to base it off real pistachio nut butter. I’m familiar with your pistachio cake but am looking for a creamier consistency. Do you think it is possible to recreate this cake with nut butter (equal weight) instead of chocolate?
Thank you very much for your outstanding work, I love gifting your beautiful creations!
Hi Kate, We wish we could help, but we have never tested a pistachio cream pie before. Let us know if you happen to find a good one!
I tried this twice now and both times it came out gritty, like I was eating chocolate flavored sand. Thought maybe I dd something wrong the first time, so I tried it again, but I got the same result. :o( I’ve made tons of Sally’s recipes and never had a problem until this one.
It was probably how you melted the chocolate. Try doing every 10 seconds or lessening the power or melting it in a double boiler.
My guess is you’re not boiling the sugar down enough in Step 3 – making the meringue. I’ve never had an issue with it, but I also lean towards the “over heating” side to prevent exactly that issue. This is a recipe that absolutely impresses everyone, so I hope you give it another try!
I made this twice and everyone loved it! Not sweet but still decadent. Still trying to figure out how to cut it so that it looks good on the plate!
This was delicious!! My husband had a craving for chocolate mousse, so I decided to make this pie- the entire family loved it!! The Oreo crust did stick a little to the pan though, not sure if why that happened? I may grease the pie plate next time. Overall a wonderful recip!
Is this the same as a chocolate creme pie? And could this be made with regular curst?
Hi Sean, there are many variations of chocolate cream pies, this one included. Perhaps you would enjoy our French silk pie recipe (on our flaky pie crust) instead. Happy baking!
My husbands favorite, so I had to make this for our 34th anniversary. It came out so yummy! So much better than any store bought one. Will definitely make this again!
Hi Sally!
I think your recipes are amazing and always turn to you when I need a good one. I am trying to make a cake to pour a chocolate mirror glaze over. I am making your flourless chocolate cake, then I want to wrap this mousse around it and smooth it out, freeze it, and then try the glaze (my first time trying one) It looks from the recipes like both of these should freeze well. This is for my friend’s 50th birthday, so I thought I would see if you saw any obvious flaws with the plan. I also have bittersweet instead of unsweetened chocolate but I imagine should be ok? What do you think? I am going to have whipped cream and strawberries to serve with it.
Hi Katie! We haven’t personally tried something like you mention, but we can’t see why that wouldn’t work. Bittersweet chocolate will lend to a deeper chocolate flavor — perfectly fine if that’s what you prefer. Please do let us know how it goes!
Hi Sally. I made the sky high chocolate mousse pie for my GrandDaughter’s 14th Birthday and it was a big hit. My GrandDaughter and everyone in the family loved it. Thank you.
RajKittur
March 23, 2022
Chocolate mousse is my husband’s favorite dessert of all time, and I KNEW you would have a great recipe for it. I only had chocolate chips on hand today (Tollhouse Dark Chocolate Morsels) and it still worked really well!
Made this for Christmas dessert for my guests. It was delicious! It was really rich and decadent. Do you think it could be made with a different chocolate to make it less “intense”? semisweet chocolate? Thanks!
Hi Julie, Did you use unsweetened chocolate? If you try it again you can try using a little bit less chocolate, but we haven’t tested it that way. Let us know if you give it a try.
Why on earth are you telling us to bake the cookie crumb crust for 18 minutes? I followed the instructions without thinking it through and naturally it was burnt. Other cookie crumb crust recipes range from 5-10 minutes at 350.
NOT easy. REALLY fussy:
Separate the eggs, grind cookies, melt this, whip that, fold this with that, whip some more, melt some more, fold some more. More whipping! BUT..it all resulted in total pie perfection. Standing ovation from my guests. My husband said it was so good you could get high on it. (Hence the name, is apropos.)
Thank you for the recipe.
I made this and it was so delicious but
I must have done something wrong with the crust. It was hard to cut through. Any advice?
Is the pie pan a deep dish pan or normal pan?
Hi Ed, this pie was made in a regular 9 inch (1.75 inch deep) pie pan.
Hi Sally!
I deflated my mousse! Is there any way to salvage it?
Hi Kristin, you could try whipping more heavy cream into stiff peaks again and folding it in. This will help increase the volume back to where it should be.
Hi Sally!
I’ve got my eye on this guy – looks amazing. But I was thinking of doing it like a cake, in a springform pan? Do you think the mousse would be stable enough for that?
Many thanks in advance!
Hi Kasia, You could use a 9 inch springform pan with no changes. If you use a larger pan the pie will be thinner.
This was easy to make – and tastes rich and delicious. My ten year old son along with his ten year old friend made this with minimal help from parents. I think we probably could have cut the pie into 10 slices instead of 8. Ultimately we loved this recipe and highly recommend it, especially for kids who love to bake!
I love all of your recipes!~
Our church will be having a fundraiser by selling pies all summer. I would like to make this sky high chocolate mousse pie but the whipped cream on top won’t keep that well will it? Is there anything I can add to the whipped cream to keep it stable and pretty for 6-8 hours? Thanks very much for any advice.
Hi Pamela, If you’d like the whipped cream to last beyond a day, stabilizing it would be helpful. Some readers have used this method with gelatin if they need to stabilize it: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/18041/stabilized-whipped-cream-icing/
We’ve been trying to duplicate a local pie bakery’s version of this pie. This one delivered and everyone who taste tested it, family and friends, loved. I enjoyed making it too. The mousse is nice and rich, the crust adds crunch and contrast and the whipped cream on top is like my Grandma’s.
If I make the Oreo crust the night before, do I leave at room temperature overnight or should I refrigerate? Thank you! So excited to try out this recipe.
Hi McKenzie, You can cover and refrigerate the crust overnight. Enjoy!
Such a rich and decadent pie. Perfect for chocolate lovers. Will definitely make again.
I just made this and WOW!!! I am currently licking the bowls of mousse and whipped cream clean.. it’s that good. I had trouble crushing the oreos since I don’t have a good food processor in my college dorm! Nonetheless, it is absolutely divine.
Hi wondering if I can use coconut cream instead of dairy cream
Hi Anne, we’ve only tested the recipe with heavy cream, but if you try that substitution, let us know how it goes.