Chocolate Cream Pie

This chocolate cream pie recipe is one of our signature desserts and we try to make sure we keep this in stock as much as possible. This recipe came to fruition in the very beginning when we opened the Secret Garden Cafe in 2013. When we first purchased the restaurant from the previous owners, The Garden Kitchen, they were known in town for their chocolate cream pie.

I had never made a chocolate cream pie before, but old clientele of the Garden Kitchen were not happy when they walked up those brick stairs to not only see their old favorite local sandwich shop gone, but no more chocolate cream pie!

I realized that I had to learn how to make one and quick. Not many of the Garden Kitchen guests were willing to give us a chance when we opened, except a few customers, who I’m still grateful for to this day.

One customer that I had become close to over the course of the few months after we opened, actually helped me develop this recipe. I had never had a chocolate cream pie so I asked a lot of questions.

After trial and error I finally developed this recipe. I give this pie a lot of credit for keeping a lot of the old Garden Kitchen regulars happy and without it I’m not sure how many would have come back.

See Recipe Below:

Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe By: Sarah DeVight

Time: 4-5 Hours

Serves: 6

Course: Dessert

INGREDIENTS Crust 6 tbsp butter 3 tbsp sugar 1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs Filling 4 egg yolks 3 tbsp corn starch 2 tbsp cocoa powder 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate 2 tbsp butter 1 cup heavy whipping cream 2 cups whole milk 2 tsp vanilla extract Whipped topping 1 cup heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup powdered sugar 2 tsp vanilla extract STEPS 1. Make Crust: Preheat oven to 350F 2. Crush graham crackers until fine crumb and mix with sugar and butter. Place in a 9″ pie dish and press until tightly compacted. Bake for 8-10 minutes. 3. Make Filling: In a medium sauce pan, mix together, egg yolks, sugar, ccorn starch and cocoa powder. Mix until it forms a smooth paste. 4. Slowly add heavy cream, half at a time, until mixed well. Add whole milk. 5. Over medium heat, cook custard, stirring constantly so eggs do not curdle. 6. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a heat proof bowl. immediately add chocolate chips and stir until mixed in and smooth. Add butter and vanilla. 7. Pour into pie shell and allow to cool for 4 hours before adding whipped topping. 9. Make Whipped Topping: In a large chilled bowl add heavy cream, vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until it reaches stiff peaks. 10. Spread over chilled pie and finish with a garnish of your choice. We garnish ours with chocolate ganache. 11. Allow pie to chill another 4 hours or over night so filling is set properly.