Bake

Maple & Milk Chocolate Chess Pie

November  7, 2024
5
2 Ratings
Photo by Ty Mecham
  • Prep time 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Serves 1 (9-inch) pie
Author Notes

For those of you (like myself) who could care less about pumpkin, apple, or all those pies in between, this one’s for you. A chess pie (a Southern staple) is made with a custard base, this one primarily with maple syrup and milk chocolate. It leans on the sweeter side, which is why there’s barely any regular sugar, but the salt and unsweetened whipped cream to serve help to balance it out. —Nea Arentzen

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • ALL BUTTER PIE DOUGH
  • 2 cups (240 grams all-purpose flour)
  • 1/4 teaspoon Diamond crystal kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup (168 grams) unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (84 grams) water, ice cold water
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar
  • 1 egg yolk plus 1 tablespoon milk (or water) for egg wash
  • FILLING
  • 5 ounces milk chocolate, melted (i used tony’s)
  • 3/4 cup (169 grams) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup (312 grams) high quality maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons (24 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup (34 grams) cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup (113 grams) heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon Diamond crystal kosher salt
  • flakey sea salt
Directions
  1. Blind-bake the crust: Combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl, then use the large holes of a box grated to grate in the cold butter (alternatively, cut into small ½-inch cubes). Use your fingers or a pastry cutter to blend the butter into the flour until most of the butter is mixed in, and resembled the size of small peas. Combine the ice water and vinegar and add it a tablespoon at a time to the flour mixture, mixing with a fork or your hands, until the dough holds together. Press the dough into a round disc, then wrap in plastic and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
  2. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 14-inch wide circle. Dust with a little more flour, then roll it up onto the rolling pin; drape it over a 9-inch wide, 2-inch deep pie dish. Gently press the pie dough into the edges, then use scissors to cut the extra overhanging dough off the sides, leaving about ½ to 1-inch all around. Tuck the edges of the dough underneath, then use a fork or your fingers to scallop the edges into desired design. Transfer the dish to the fridge until cold to the touch and mostly solid, an additional 30 to 45 minutes.
  3. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425ºF with a rack in the bottom third. Prick holes in the bottom of the crust with a fork and brush the edges with egg wash. Crumple up a piece of parchment paper, then place in the pie dish and fill with pie weights or beans. Bake until golden brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. Remove the beans or pie weights, reprick the bottom, and bake for an additional 10 minutes (the bottom might puff up, but you can gently push it back down once done baking)
  4. Make the filling and assemble pie: Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF/180ºC. In a large microwave safe bowl (or using a double boiler), melt the chocolate and butter together; allow to cool slightly. Whisk in the maple, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs until very thoroughly combined–this is important so that the custard doesn’t split and curdle in the oven. Whisk in the cornmeal, heavy cream, and salt. Pour into the blind-baked crust. Bake until the crust is slightly puffy and cracked along the edges, and only jiggles slightly when moved, about 1 hour and 5 minutes.
  5. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack to let cool completely, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to overnight until fully set. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt. Serve with whipped cream on the sides.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Nea Arentzen
    Nea Arentzen
  • lpallet
    lpallet
  • sara.brown01
    sara.brown01
Nea Arentzen

Recipe by: Nea Arentzen

Test Kitchen Content Creator & Recipe Developer at Food52

5 Reviews

lpallet November 17, 2024
Great recipe. I will be using it again for Thanksgiving dinner. I used half dark and half milk chocolate and it was delicious.
 
sara.brown01 November 10, 2024
Absolutely delicious! I used Cadbury milk chocolate, and it shined through in every silky bite with a touch of maple. I wanted a fall inspired pie that wasn’t apple or pumpkin because those are already at my holidays, and this one was a bigger hit than those. I might add a tablespoon of bourbon next time for fun, but this recipe was 10/10!
 
Nea A. November 11, 2024
OMG! Thank you for your review, I'm so happy you liked it. Do you think it was too sweet at all?
 
sara.brown01 November 11, 2024
Chess pies are on the sweeter side, so I think it was fitting. Everyone at my family party loved it, and they don’t like anything “too sweet”. I was curious if the milk chocolate would add to the sweetness or not shine through. It still did, but maybe subbing dark chocolate would give it a richer flavor and cut the sweetness some if desired!
 
Nea A. November 12, 2024
Okay very good to know! Thanks for getting back to me!