Chocolate cream pie needs no introduction, right? Here we have a flaky, buttery crust filled with dark chocolate custard, piled high with creamy whipped topping, and sprinkled with chocolate curls. Are you with me now?
I’ve been long-winded this week, so I’ll get right to the recipe. But first, two things:
I should mention that my vegan whipped cream of choice, Healthy Top (pictured above), hasn’t been manufactured months while MimicCreme looks for a new manufacturer — a sorry fact which has single-handedly reduced my pie consumption this summer. Such a bummer! In any event, trust that this pie will do just fine with your favorite store-bought or homemade vegan whipped cream.
And if you missed it yesterday, be sure to check out my instructions for making your own chocolate curls!
Happy Pie Day, everyone, and happy first week of Vegan MoFo!
- For pastry,
- 2½ c flour
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 c cold vegan butter
- ¼ c chilled shortening
- up to 7 Tbsp ice water
- For filling,
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ c sugar
- 3 Tbsp Dutch cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 + ¼ cup almond milk
- 1 14-ounce can coconut milk (the higher the fat percentage, the better)
- 4 ounces good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 8+ ounces vegan whipped cream, as desired
- chocolate curls, optional
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar and salt.
- Using a pastry cutter, cut in shortening and butter until pea-sized.*
- Sprinkle with 5-6 Tbsp ice water and stir until dough comes together in a ball, adding more ice water as needed. Use as little water as possible and handle the dough as little as possible, so as not to end up with a tough crust.
- Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface.
- Transfer to a 9″ pie plate; trim and shape edges as desired.
- Prick crust with a fork and fill with pie weights; bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove pie weights and bake another 5-10 minutes, until golden.
- Remove pie plate from oven and set aside until fully cooled.
- Meanwhile, begin making the custard filling. In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, whisk together cornstarch, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.
- Gradually whisk almond and coconut milks into dry mixture.
- Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a boil.
- Boil for two minutes, whisking constantly, until custard is thick.
- Remove from heat and whisk in chopped chocolate and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour filling into cooled pie crust, tilting the pie dish as needed until it’s evenly distributed.
- Cover pie and let cool for at least 3 hours (or overnight), until fully set.
- Right before serving, top very generously with whipped cream.
- Garnish with chocolate curls.
And don’t forget the chocolate curls!
