Chocolate Chess Pie
By Aaron FurmanekPublished on December 2, 2014
Time
1¾ hours, plus 4½ hours cooling
Yield
Serves 8 to 12
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Our preferred unsweetened chocolate is Hershey’s Unsweetened Baking Bar. Take care when melting the chocolate in the microwave, using only 50 percent power and stopping to stir every 30 seconds or so. This pie needs to sit for 4 hours after baking to set up. Serve with our Tangy Whipped Cream (see related content), if desired.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto greased 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand.
- Trim overhang to 1/2 inch beyond lip of plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of pie using your fingers. Wrap dough-lined plate loosely in plastic and freeze until dough is firm, about 15 minutes.
- Line chilled pie shell with 2 (12-inch) squares of parchment paper, letting parchment lie over edges of dough, and fill with pie weights. Bake until lightly golden around edges, 18 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove parchment and weights, rotate crust, and continue to bake until center begins to look opaque and slightly drier, 3 to 6 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
- Microwave butter and chocolate in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, about 2 minutes. In separate bowl, whisk 1 1/2 cups sugar, flour, and salt together until combined. Whisk eggs and yolks, cream, and vanilla into sugar mixture until combined. Whisk chocolate mixture into sugar-egg mixture until fully incorporated and no streaks remain.
- Pour filling into cooled pie shell. Sprinkle top of pie with remaining 1 teaspoon sugar. Bake until center of pie is just set and registers 180 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes. (Slight crust will form on top.) Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely, about 4 hours. Serve. (Pie can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
Time
1¾ hours, plus 4½ hours coolingYield
Serves 8 to 12Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
A catchall term for a kind of one-crust custard pie, English settlers brought chess pie to the new world as early as the 17th century. Originating from an archaic English spelling of cheese (“chese”), this word was used to signify the types of curds and custards commonly used in pies. Melted unsweetened chocolate and cream lend richness, while four eggs plus two additional yolks create a silky, creamy texture. Three tablespoons of flour help bind the ingredients for neat slicing. We bake this pie in a 325-degree oven to yield a soft but fully cooked custard with deep chocolate flavor and a golden crust. An even coat of granulated sugar over the pie provides a crunchy textural contrast.
Before You Begin
Our preferred unsweetened chocolate is Hershey’s Unsweetened Baking Bar. Take care when melting the chocolate in the microwave, using only 50 percent power and stopping to stir every 30 seconds or so. This pie needs to sit for 4 hours after baking to set up. Serve with our Tangy Whipped Cream (see related content), if desired.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto greased 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand.
- Trim overhang to 1/2 inch beyond lip of plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of pie using your fingers. Wrap dough-lined plate loosely in plastic and freeze until dough is firm, about 15 minutes.
- Line chilled pie shell with 2 (12-inch) squares of parchment paper, letting parchment lie over edges of dough, and fill with pie weights. Bake until lightly golden around edges, 18 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove parchment and weights, rotate crust, and continue to bake until center begins to look opaque and slightly drier, 3 to 6 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
- Microwave butter and chocolate in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, about 2 minutes. In separate bowl, whisk 1 1/2 cups sugar, flour, and salt together until combined. Whisk eggs and yolks, cream, and vanilla into sugar mixture until combined. Whisk chocolate mixture into sugar-egg mixture until fully incorporated and no streaks remain.
- Pour filling into cooled pie shell. Sprinkle top of pie with remaining 1 teaspoon sugar. Bake until center of pie is just set and registers 180 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes. (Slight crust will form on top.) Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely, about 4 hours. Serve. (Pie can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
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