This spicy, decadent dessert is perfect for a party or a fancy date night at home. Impress your friends and family and whip up something special with a kick. This recipe is not for the faint of heart, nor is it very friendly to dairy-free diets, but it does result in a delicious treat that just screams “temptation.” I got this recipe from our owner, Phebe, and made it for my friends, and they couldn’t get enough of it! So let’s jump right in.
Spicy Chocolate Cream Pie
Makes one 9” pie
Ingredients:
- 9” pie shell*
Filling:
- 136 g dark chocolate (~¾ cup)
- 90 g butter (~7 tbsp)
- 12 g corn starch (~2 tbsp)
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 370 g milk (~1½ cups)
- 48 g heavy cream (~3 tbsp)
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 60 g brown sugar (~¼ cup)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Topping:
- ¾ tsp gelatin powder
- 15 g hot water (~1 tbsp)
- 175 g heavy cream (~⅔ cup)
- 15 g sugar (~1 tbsp)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
*For the purposes of this recipe, I used a pre-made gluten-free pie shell. There are a million recipes out there if you prefer to make your own crust. Otherwise, look for pre-mades or mixes from brands like Wholly Gluten-Free or King Arthur at your local grocery.
Instructions:
- Bake pie crust at 350F for 20-30 minutes until edges are golden brown.
- Melt chocolate and butter and set aside.
- Whisk together corn starch, cinnamon, paprika, eggs, and egg yolk in a bowl. Set aside.
- Combine milk, cream, salt, and sugar in a pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly.
- Continuing to whisk, slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture.
- Pour back into the pot, and return to a low boil, whisking constantly.
- Boil, while whisking, for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla.
- Strain mixture through a sieve into melted chocolate and whisk to combine.
- Pour filling into the pie shell.
- Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours.
- When pie filling is chilled, prepare stabilized whipped cream topping.
- Sprinkle gelatin over hot water and let dissolve for 5 minutes.
- Whip cream and sugar until soft peaks just start to form.
- Pour the gelatin into the cream, continuing to mix on low.
- Whip until medium peaks form.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- Use immediately to top pie with swirls of cream, and dust with cinnamon and paprika.
As a (very) amateur baker myself, I was not as prepared for this recipe as I thought I would be. But even with some struggles along the way, the result was great! My final thoughts:
- If you’ve never made a cream pie before, watch out for steps 5-9 of this recipe. A skeptic might look at step 5 and think that it seems unnecessary, but when you get to step 9, you’ll be glad you didn’t skip it. Boiling eggs is a delicate business that can easily lead to a chocolate omelet instead of a pie. Just know that if any of your eggs do get a bit overcooked, your mixture can still be saved. You’ll just have to spend a little more time straining.
- As absolutely delicious as this pie came out, I almost wished that it were a little bit spicier. If you’re looking for even more of a kick, try doubling the cinnamon and maybe adding a dash or two of cayenne. Your taste buds will thank you!