Dark Chocolate Chess Pie

You don't have to love pumpkin to serve a delicious, crowd-pleasing Thanksgiving dessert at your holiday feast! If you're looking for a festive pie recipe that has zero pumpkin involved, this is the one for you. Filled with rich dark chocolate on a buttery, flaky pie crust, this pie tastes decadent and delicious enough to turn even the biggest pumpkin fans to the dark (chocolate) side.

For more holiday pie recipes, try Turtle Pecan Pie, No Bake Chocolate Mousse Pie, Black Bottom Pumpkin Custard Pie, and Salted Caramel Apple Pie.

Why you'll love this dark chocolate chess pie

• Buttery, Flaky Pie Crust: My go-to all butter pie dough that creates an ultra flaky, tender crust that's perfect with any pie filling. 
• Creamy, Custardy Dark Chocolate Filling: Think chocolate pudding meets custard pie - aka the consistency of pumpkin pie but rich chocolatey goodness!
• Great Make Ahead Thanksgiving Pie: I won't lie, homemade pie is does require a lot of time and patience. But the best part is that it's best served the day after it's baked, so it's a great make ahead dessert!

Ingredient Notes

• Chocolate: Use a high quality bittersweet chocolate for a unique flavor profile. Alternatively, you can use semi-sweet chocolate chips, or even dark chocolate chips.
• Cocoa Powder: Use a high quality dutch-process cocoa powder for a more rich & intense chocolate flavor.
• Espresso Powder: Be sure to use a fine ground espresso powder, not instant espresso. 
• Unsalted Butter: Use high quality European-style butter for best overall flavor.
• Sugars: You'll need both granulated sugar and dark brown sugar.
• Flour: Use high quality unbleached all-purpose flour best results.
• Eggs: Bring your eggs to room temperature quickly by placing it in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
• Vanilla: Add a high quality vanilla extract for optimal flavor.
• Cornmeal: A small amount of cornmeal added to the custard filling is traditional to chess pie and is essential to creating a thick gooey consistency.
• Vodka: Optional, but will hydrate the dough while hindering gluten development. If you're new to making pie crusts by hand, a little bit of vodka will ensure the crust still bakes up ultra flaky!

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this dark chocolate chess pie recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Make & chill the dough. Make the pie dough and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then chill for one hour. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a rough rectangle, fold in half, then again into quarters. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for another 30 minutes. Roll the dough out again into a rough rectangle and repeat the folding process. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and chill overnight.

STEP 2: Roll & dock. Carefully place the dough in the pie pan, pressing up against the sides. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. Take the pie crust out, cut off the excess dough, and crimp the edges as desired. Dock the bottom and sides of the crust all over with the tines of a fork, then chill for another 20-30 minutes.

STEP 3: Blind bake. Place a large piece of parchment paper over the pie crust and fill with pie weights, dry beans, or dry rice all the way up to the crimp. Place the pie pan on the hot baking sheet and bake for 18 minutes. Take the pan out, take all of the pie weights out, then brush the pie crust with an egg wash all over, except for the crimp. Bake for an additional 3-5 minutes or until barely golden. Allow the pie crust to cool completely before adding the pie filling.

STEP 4: Make dark chocolate mixture. In a small saucepan, combine the butter, chocolate, cocoa powder, espresso powder, salt, and milk. Place over low-medium heat and stir often until fully melted and smooth. Set aside to cool.

STEP 5: Beat sugars and eggs. In a large mixing bowl, add the sugars, cornmeal, eggs, and vanilla. Use an electric hand mixer to beat until lighter in color and doubled in size.

STEP 6: Add the chocolate. Drizzle in the dark chocolate mixture, and whisk until fully combined.

STEP 7: Pour and bake. Pour the filling into the cooled crust, then place on a baking sheet. Wrap aluminum foil around the crimp to prevent it from getting too dark. Bake the pie for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until set and slightly puffed up.

STEP 8: Cool and top. Allow the pie to cool for at least 2 hours before serving. Top with chocolate shavings if desired before serving.

Expert Baking Tips

• Add vodka to the pie dough. If you have vodka on hand, you can add a few tablespoons to the pie dough before the water. You'll end up adding less water, so still pay close attention to the hydration level. Vodka does not develop the gluten as much, which makes it perfect for hydrating pie dough and creating a super tender pie crust!
• Keep the pie dough cold. The most important thing with making pie crust is to always keep the dough cold at all steps. So use ice cold water and cold butter, and any time you touch the dough you should put it back in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
• Bake the pie on a hot baking sheet on the lowest rack in the oven. No one likes a soggy pie bottom! To achieve a beautifully golden, crisp bottom pie crust preheat the oven with a baking sheet on the bottom rack. When it's time to bake the pie, place the pie dish directly on top of the hot baking sheet!

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x