This is probably my favorite pie ever and I’m kind of surprised I haven’t written out this recipe yet. It’s super easy and you should have almost all the ingredients already in your pantry. It doesn’t get better than a warm slice of chocolate chess pie and a big scoop of ice cream.
Andia’s Ice Cream in Cary, NC has a Cannoli Cream flavor that goes perfectly with this pie! It has hints of cinnamon and a super creamy texture from the ricotta cheese in it, just like a traditional cannoli. Since the flavor isn’t too strong, it doesn’t take over the pie which makes it a perfect pair for this recipe. If you live in the Triangle, they are totally worth a drive! They are doing contactless quart pickups right now because of the Coronavirus, but don’t forget to go back once they fully re-open because their normal menu has all kinds of treats like giant milkshakes and baklava ice cream sandwiches.
Let’s start by discussing pie crust. I used to be a much better cook than baker. I sucked at baking and one of the things I struggled most on was pie crusts. So if you’re worried about doing a crust from scratch, just buy one. It’s much easier and the frozen ones taste fine! Just be sure to buy a deep dish pie shell if you’re going to buy one. The regular size is weirdly small and shallow. I’ll do a full pie crust tutorial sometime soon!
For whatever crust you decide on, make sure you dock the pie crust before baking and you don’t need to blind bake this crust. Translation: take the frozen pie shell out of the freezer for 10 minutes to thaw, poke holes in the crust with a fork, and bake! The fork holes are necessary to help keep the pie crust from bubbling up and making huge craters in your pie.
To make the filling, just whisk together the dry ingredients first in a large bowl.
Then you’ll add the wet ingredients and use a hand mixer with whisk attachments to whip some air into the pie. Mix the pie filling on max speed until it starts to lighten up, about 2-3 full minutes. You’ll see lots of bubbles in the filling and that’s what you want. When it bakes, the bubbles will rise to the top and create a top crust.
The filling is very runny when you fill the pie shell, so don’t freak out if you think that the pie will never set solid. It does! It just requires a long bake time. The trickiest part of this pie is judging whether it’s done or not. Towards the end of the baking time, the only way you can tell if it’s done is by gently jiggling the pie. It should have a very slight jiggle but be totally set in the center. If you’re worried it’s not done, just bake another 5-10 minutes. It’s better to err on the side of caution.
Gosh, I just love this pie so much! It’s so rich and chocolately. Sometimes typing up these recipe posts makes me crazy hungry! Do yourself a favor… make this pie, and buy Andia’s Cannoli Cream ice cream to put on top! Let me know how you like it!
^^If that picture doesn’t make you want to make this pie immediately, I give up 😉
Chocolate Chess Pie
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch deep dish pie crust (unbaked)
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 5 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder (optional)
- pinch salt
- 1 cup evaporated milk (8 oz)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Microwave the butter until melted and set aside to cool slightly.
- Prep pie crust by docking with the tines of a fork and if necessary, thawing the crust to room temp.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, flour, espresso powder, and salt. Pour butter and evaporated milk into the bowl and use a hand mixer to whisk until combined. Add vanilla and eggs, then beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is lightened up and bubbly.
- Pour mixture into unbaked crust and bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Check the pie after 55 minutes to see if it's set. It should have a very slight jiggle but be set in the center. Do not underbake! If the crust starts to get too dark, use a pie crust shield or pieces of aluminum foil to cover the crust while the pie continues to bake.
