If you’ve never met my famously easy chocolate cream pie recipe, which comes complete with sour cream custard and pecans, please allow me to introduce you.
I have a thing for chocolate and pecans, which you might have noticed with this chocolate pecan pie recipe I posted a few years ago. This pie is a little different, though. This one is a creamy chocolate custard pie, and it’s made with sour cream (because clearly I have a thing for sour cream-based custard pies). It’s playfully tart with loads of chocolate flavor, plus a layer of pecans for crunch. It’s also CRAZY EASY to put together, which is a big plus during the holiday season.
The custard in this pie is seriously to die for. Like, it made me a little lightheaded, like I’d been hanging out in the back room of a recording studio for too long. It’s not often a recipe is so good it makes me high, but this is one of them.
Easy Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe + Sour Cream Custard + Pecans
I can’t remember where this chocolate sour cream pie recipe originated from. I was visiting my friend Jack Czarnecki up in Oregon, and after an afternoon of stormy truffle hunting (and tracking truffle poachers, an added bonus!), we went back to his house to shed our soaked, muddy layers and warm up with a cup of hot tea. Jack’s wife, Heidi, had made a chocolate cream pie, to which she’d added a layer of walnuts to gussy it up a bit. She offered up a slice and I dove in face first.
Heidi wasn’t all that impressed with the pie, but I was in love. Maybe it was the fact that I’d spent the previous four hours freezing my ass off while gleefully digging in the mud, but this pie was the first comforting thing I’d eaten all day. She gladly passed along the recipe.
The perfect easy chocolate cream pie recipe was born.
Later that same year I decided to make this chocolate cream pie for the holidays, adding pecans and a healthy dose of sour cream to give it a little more kick in the flavor department. Despite the fact that it comes together in 15 minutes or so – a little longer if you opt to make your own homemade pie crust – it met with rave reviews. I’ve had a few folks ask me for this recipe, so here it is.
I love this chocolate pecan pie recipe because it’s got a luscious chocolate sour cream custard that SHOCKINGLY good. it’s so simple, but with the addition of sour cream and pecans, it takes on a festive air with a touch of tart attitude. I suppose you could also add a tablespoon or two of Makers Mark to the custard during the final mix, though I’d add an additional teaspoon of flour to compensate for the extra moisture.
This recipe calls for a parbaked pie crust, which means you need to bake it for a bit before adding the filling and baking it again. This allows the pie crust to stay crisp even with the moist filling in place. While you can use a store-bought pie crust, I’ve got a recipe on my site that I adore. I’ve also included a handful of seriously pastry-chef level PRO PIE CRUST TIPS so you can totally up your pie game. Check it out:
- One 9-inch pie crust, parbaked
- 3/4 cups unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 large whole eggs
- 1 whole vanilla bean
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sour cream
- Freshly made whipped cream, for serving
- 1/2 pound pecan halves, (walnut halves work great, too!)
- Prepare crust according to whichever directions you're using. Make sure to parbake the crust.
- Melt butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Stir in cocoa powder and sugar. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
- Add the eggs to a large mixing bowl. Using a paring knife, split the vanilla bean down the middle lengthwise. Use the knife to scrape the tiny vanilla beans from the inside of the pod, adding them to the eggs. Reserve the spent pod for some other use.
- Whip the eggs until foamy and aerated, about 4 minutes on medium-high speed. Turn speed to medium and add the flour, sour cream, and salt. Slowly add the chocolate mixture, mixing until combined.
- Pour filling into parbaked crust. Top with pecan halves, arranging them in an attractive pattern on the pie. Bake at 350°F (176°C) for 45 minutes. Edges of pie will be slightly crusty and center will still jiggle a little. Don't overbake or the custard will crack.
- Allow to cool and serve with a dollop of whipped cream.
Note for this Easy Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe with Pecans and Sour Cream Custard: You may use 1 cup whole milk plus 1 teaspoon white vinegar as a sour cream substitute. Just add an extra tablespoon of flour to make up for the extra moisture.
This recipe calls for a parbaked pie crust, which means you need to bake your pie crust for a bit before adding the filling, then you baking it again. This allows the pie crust to stay crisp even with the moist filling in place. Trust me, don't skip this step.
If you don't have pecans, walnut halves work just as well.
Nutritional analysis does not include crust or garnishes.
This content was originally posted on FearlessFresh.com.
