Rich and Creamy Chocolate Cream Pie
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This Chocolate Cream Pie is a whipped cream cheese and chocolate filling in a flaky crust, and apart from blind-baking the shell it never sees the oven. No egg yolks, no tempering, no custard on the stove — an electric mixer and four hours in the fridge. It's the same trick behind my Butterfinger Pie.
It's a holiday pie that doesn't need the oven, which matters on a day when the oven is the bottleneck. Make it the morning of, or the night before. The topping is Homemade Cool Whip if you want to make your own, or two containers of the store-bought kind if you don't.
Quick Look: Chocolate Cream Pie
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 20 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
- 👨👩👧👦 Servings: 8
- 📊 Calories: ~652 kcal per serving
- 🥣 Ingredients: Pie crust, heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, cream cheese, cocoa powder, butter, semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy — no-bake apart from the crust, but it needs four hours to set
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
No Eggs, No Stovetop. Most chocolate cream pies are a cooked custard you have to temper and not scramble. This one is whipped cream cheese, melted chocolate and whipped cream folded together in a bowl.
The Oven Is Free. Blind-bake the crust and you're done with heat. On a holiday when the oven is booked from nine in the morning, that's the difference between making a pie and not.
It Sets Firm Enough to Slice. Four hours in the fridge and it cuts clean instead of sliding off the server — the cream cheese does that, and it's why this holds up on a buffet table.
If you're making more than one, my Cherry Pie and Apple Pie Turnovers both go in the oven while this one chills.
Ingredients Needed
- Pie crust: Store-bought is fine, or use my Homemade Pie Crust. Either way it gets baked and cooled completely before the filling goes in — warm crust and cream cheese don't mix. Heavy cream: This becomes the whipped cream, and it does double duty — some folds into the filling, the rest goes on top. Store-bought Cool Whip works instead if you'd rather not whip it.
- Cream cheese: Full-fat, and properly softened. Cold cream cheese leaves lumps you can't whip out later.
- Cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate chips: Both, not one or the other. The cocoa carries the color and the bitterness, the melted chips carry the richness.
How To Make Chocolate Cream Pie
- Step 1: Prepare your pie crust and bake as directed.
- Step 2: Whip up the softened cream cheese in a large bowl.
- Step 3: Add in your dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- Step 4: Melt your butter and chocolate chips in the microwave.
- Step 5: Pour the melted chocolate into the chocolate pie filling.
- Step 6: Fold in the whipped cream. Spread the filling into the cooled pie crust and chill.
Recipe Tips
- Let the crust cool completely. Filling a warm crust softens the cream cheese, and the pie won't set as firm.
- Don't over-fold the whipped cream. Fold until you stop seeing streaks and stop there. Every extra stroke knocks air out, and the air is what makes it a cream pie instead of a ganache.
- Use pie weights or dried beans when baking your crust. It prevents the crust from forming air pockets and bubbling up.
- Make sure your cream cheese is softened so there are no little bits of cream cheese.
- I usually make my own whipped cream. But two containers of Cool Whip can also be used.
- Let the pie set up for about 4 hours before serving.
Recipe FAQ's
I used a store-bought pie crust. If you prefer to make your own homemade pie crust, you certainly can. A graham cracker crust or Oreo cookie crust would also be fantastic
Yes, I prefer to leave the whipped topping off until ready to serve. Let the pie set up as directed in the refrigerator.
Then cover with a piece of plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil and freeze for up to three months. Simply thaw in the refrigerator and add the whipped topping and chocolate shavings before serving.
It needs four hours in the fridge minimum, so the night before is ideal.
No. Two containers of store-bought Cool Whip work in place of the homemade whipped cream.
Usually the crust went in warm, or the whipped cream was over-folded and lost its air. Both leave the filling looser than it should be.
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Rich and Creamy Chocolate Cream Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
Whipped Cream
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
Chocolate filling
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 ( 8oz) pkg cream cheese softened
- 3 cups prepared whipped cream the rest will go on top
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Instructions
- Bake pie crust according to package directions. (Poke several holes in the crust with a fork or add dried beans or pie weights to the crust before baking and remove them after the crust has cooled.)
For The Whipped Topping
- In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, whip 3 cups heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar on high until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Chill until ready to use. (This should make 5-6 cups of whipped cream)
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer beat the softened cream cheese, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar until smooth. Set aside.
- In a small bowl add the chocolate chips and butter, microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again for 15-second increments until melted.
- Using the electric mixer mix in the melted chocolate, and 3 cups of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until combined.
- Spread chocolate filling into pie crust. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Spread the remaining whipped cream on top.
- Garnish with chocolate shavings.
I made this chocolate pie and it is scrumptious! It has a rich chocolate taste and I especially love that the texture is firm without having to freeze it. The whipped cream stays good for days with the powdered sugar. This recipe is a keeper for us! Thank you, Wendie! 💖
making this for the second time. I think I'm gonna make a graham cracker crust instead of regular pie crust. my daughter says it would be her favorite if it had chocolate cookie crust, but too much chocolate for me, so opting for graham cracker crust instead.
Woohoo! I'm honored to get such a great review from the pie guy 🙂 I'm so happy you enjoyed it!
This was one of the best chocolate cream pies that I've ever ate 😁 The recipe was simple to follow. easy to make. also, the first time I ever made a chocolate cream pie, I'll never forget this one and we'll make again.
So happy you enjoyed it David! Send me an email and let me know how the peanut butter version turns out 🙂
I made this recipe tonight and it was a fabulous. My family loved it. I was thinking of using peanut butter chips in the mix next time instead of chocolate chips
Yes it can be made the day before 🙂
Can I make this a day before? I’ve made it before and it is delicious, but will be short on time the day I need it.
Its 1/3 cup of powdered sugar for the whipped cream and 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar for the pie filling!
steps 2 and 3 both call for powered sugar - is it 1 1/2 cups both times or what is the measurement? the directions here aren't clear, thanks!