Chill

Milk Chocolate Cream Pie

November 20, 2020
5
1 Ratings
Photo by Ayanna Long
  • Prep time 2 hours 15 minutes
  • Cook time 10 minutes
  • makes one 9-inch pie
Author Notes

Yes, I love dark chocolate very much—but milk chocolate has a special place in my heart, too. I especially like it in creamy desserts, so wrapping a milk chocolate pudding in a flaky pie crust seemed like a no-brainer. I added a milk chocolate black-bottom base, too, which you could skip, but I think it’s worth it for the extra boost of pure chocolate flavor.
Erin Jeanne McDowell

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Milk Chocolate Cream Pie
Ingredients
  • Pie & Milk Chocolate Ganache
  • 1 blind-baked pie crust, cooled completely
  • 113 grams finely chopped milk chocolate
  • 60 grams heavy cream, heated till scalding but not boiling
  • Filling
  • 1 1/2 cups (345 grams) whole milk
  • 1/4 cup (50 grams) heavy cream
  • 5 ounces (142 grams) finely chopped milk chocolate
  • 1/4 cup (99 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup (28 grams) cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 4 large (85 grams) egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • (Whipped Cream)
  • 1 cup (235 grams) heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Grated milk chocolate or cocoa powder, for finishing
Directions
  1. Have the cooled pie crust ready. Place the chocolate in a medium heat-safe bowl. In a small pot, bring the cream to a boil over medium heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let sit for 15 seconds undisturbed, then stir to combine; the ganache should be thick and smooth.
  2. Pour the ganache into the base of the cooled, par-baked pie crust and spread into an even layer. Let set for 15 to 20 minutes before adding the filling.
  3. Make the filling: In a medium pot, heat the milk and cream over medium-low heat. When the mixture begins to simmer, turn off the heat and add the chocolate. Whisk lightly until the mixture is fully combined. Turn the heat back on to medium-low and heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate is fully melted. Keep warm over low heat.
  4. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together to combine. Add the egg yolks and whisk until well combined. Pour about a quarter of the hot milk/chocolate mixture into the bowl to temper the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to combine.
  5. Return this mixture to the pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, until the mixture becomes very thick and large bubbles break the surface, 2 to 3 minutes.
  6. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Strain the pudding into the prepared pie crust and spread into an even layer. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly over the surface and chill until set, at least 2 hours.
  7. When the pie is chilled, make the whipped cream. In a medium bowl (or in an electric mixer), whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla to medium peaks. Pile onto the pie just before serving and garnish with grated chocolate or cocoa powder.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!

5 Reviews

Kara L. November 24, 2021
I was SO confused about this recipe until I read the comment about the chocolate ganache ingredients that had been left out! That really needs to be fixed!

BUT this pie was AMAZING! The perfect milk chocolate flavor. It was taking much longer than 2-3 min for my custard to thicken on the stovetop, so I bumped up the heat a little bit but then it started to get lumpy, so I guess you just have to be patient during that part. I was able to get all the lumps out with a whisk and it set perfectly in the fridge.
Lora S. November 14, 2021
The recipe above is missing the ingredients for the MILK chocolate ganache:
•113 grams finely chopped milk chocolate
•60 grams heavy cream

I've made this pie 3 times now, all for birthdays, and they were all hits! For your chocolate lovers, I highly recommend this pie!

I made one change, for the ganache, I used Erin's "Black Bottom" ganache recipe from The Book On Pie. I used 60% dark chocolate to compliment to milk chocolate pudding.

Black Bottom Ganache:
113 grams finely chopped dark chocolate
78 grams heavy cream
Kara L. November 24, 2021
Thank you for this!
markp October 25, 2021
What am I missing here? Looks like there is 5 oz chocolate. But they mention chocolate twice: once for the ganache and once for the filling. Are you supposed to divide it?
scraps September 19, 2021
I am suuuper picky about my chocolate cream pie. I like the filling like pudding, not mousse. I like a plain pastry crust (not sweet and certainly not Oreos). And lastly, I just want a simple small pie. Not a deep dish behemoth that we can’t finish.

The filling I can do with ease, though I don’t like it too sweet. I was skeptical about this recipe but Erin’s description really sold me that it wouldn’t be overly sweet.

The crust is what gets me every time. I suck at them, and I am otherwise an extremely accomplished home baker. This recipe on its own may not seem like much, but click around and find Erin’s pie crust videos on Food52, and that will explain it all. Not only did my crust turn out pretty good, but from her videos, I know exactly what I can do to improve next time.

Finished pie tasted amazing. 6 of us finished the entire thing, so the size was perfect too. Absolutely 100% not too sweet. Just perfect chocolate pie.

One thing though— my ganache didn’t turn out at all. It was runny like syrup. I’ve made ganache tons of times with dark chocolate; perhaps the milk chocolate is the difference here?