Classic Chocolate Cream Pie Recipes

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, cream together egg yolks and sugar. Mix in cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt. Add milk and stir gently.
• Pour mixture into a large saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until boiling. Remove from heat. Stir in butter or margarine and vanilla extract. Cool slightly, then pour mixture into pastry shell. Chill before serving. Garnish with whipped topping.

Steps:

• For the crust: In a food processor, pulse the graham crackers and sugar until crumbs form. Pour in the butter and continue to pulse until the crumbs are coated. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. Set aside.
• For the filling: In a small saucepan, heat the milk until hot but not simmering. To a medium saucepan, add the sugar, flour and cocoa and whisk together well. Lightly beat the egg yolks (saving the whites for the meringue) and pour into the flour mixture. Slowly add the hot milk, stirring. This will create a paste in the beginning, ensuring that the chocolate and flour blend smoothly. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until very thick, about 5 minutes. The mixture will start to bubble sporadically; continue to stir and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla and salt. Stir until the butter is completely incorporated.
• Pour the filling into the crust and chill in the refrigerator, about 45 minutes.
• For the meringue: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff. With the mixer running, gradually add the sugar and beat until the whites are smooth and glossy. Spread the meringue on the pie, reaching the edges of the crust to seal in the filling. Bake until brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll crust to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425°., Line crust with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice. Bake on a lower oven rack until edge is golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake until bottom is golden brown, 3-6 minutes longer. Cool completely on a wire rack., In a large saucepan, combine the first 6 ingredients. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Whisk 1 cup hot mixture into egg yolks. Return all to the pan; bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. , Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cool slightly. Pour warm filling into crust. Cool for 1 hour. Chill until set. If desired, top with whipped cream and sprinkle with cocoa to serve.

Steps:

• Prebake the store-bought crust according to package directions; let crust cool.
• In a saucepan, preferably nonstick, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt; whisk to mix thoroughly.
• Whisk in the milk and egg yolks; place over medium heat and cook, whisking almost nonstop, until it starts to boil and thicken noticeably, 5-7 minutes.
• Cook for 1 minute more, whisking briskly to keep it from bubbling and spattering.
• Remove pan from heat and whisk in the butter, one piece at a time, and the vanilla.
• Whisk in the chocolate, 1/3 at a time, until smooth and fully melted.
• Slowly pour the filling into the cooled pie shell and smooth the top with a spoon.
• Press a piece of plastic wrap directly over the filling leaving no gaps or air pockets, to prevent a skin from forming.
• Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool thoroughly, then refrigerate several hours or overnight.
• Just before serving, make the topping: using a chilled bowl and chilled beaters, beat the cream with an electric mixer until it holds soft peaks.
• Add the powdered sugar and continue to beat until stiff but not grainy.
• Smooth the whipped cream over the pie, pipe it decoratively, or simply serve a good-size spoonful with each slice.

Steps:

• Whisk dry ingredients with milk in a large glass heat-proof bowl and cook on high in the microwave.
• Whisk every 3 or 4 minutes.
• Separate eggs and beat egg yolks in a medium bowl while the liquid cooks.
• When the liquid begins to thicken, wisk ladle-fulls of the hot liquid into the beaten egg yolks.
• Strain the egg mixture back into the microwave bowl, whisking again to keep it smooth.
• Continue to microwave until the filling begins to look sort of "cakey" around the edges.
• Whisk to return it to the creamy texture.
• After cooking it this way once, you will become accustomed to consistency and appearance at certain stages.
• When the pie filling is quite thick, remove it from the microwave and add butter and vanilla.
• Pour into the baked pie crust and cover with meringue.
• Prepare meringue while the filling cools: Beat egg whites until "peak" stage.
• Add sugar gradually, beating constantly.
• Add vanilla.
• Spread meringue on pie and bake in a 400° oven 8 to 10 minutes until the meringue has toasty peaks.

Steps:

• Combine butter, sugar, and unsweetened chocolate in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer on high speed until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating for 5 minutes after each addition. Fold in whipped topping. Transfer to pie crust and top with chocolate shavings.
• Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.