This holiday season get ready to make this old fashioned chocolate Black Bottom Pie recipe. An easy Southern inspired pie made with a chocolate crust and topped with whipped cream.
Why This Recipe is the Best
This Black Bottom Pie is a show-stopping dessert with layers of flavor and texture that make it unforgettable. With a rich chocolate base, silky custard center, and fluffy whipped topping, every bite feels indulgent and festive. It’s like a homemade French silk pie with even more charm! Whether you’re serving it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter, this pie earns rave reviews every single time. It’s one of those recipes that feels straight out of a Betty Crocker cookbook—but better, because it’s made in your own kitchen.
Try our Southern-inspired Chess Pie, Buttermilk Pie, Pecan Pie, and Sweet Potato Pie.
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Key Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients needed for this recipe. Follow our tips on each ingredient for the best results.
- Sugar- White granulated sugar is used to sweeten the cocoa powder. If you want a more milk chocolate taste, increase the amount of sugar used. Powdered sugar is needed for the whipped cream to sweeten it up.
- Milk- Using whole milk is best for this recipe, but we've tried with 1% and 2% without any issues.
- Egg- This recipe only needs egg yolks. Room-temperature eggs will give you the best results, but it is not necessary.
- Dark chocolate- Dark chocolate that is chopped for easy melting. This gives the recipe its iconic black bottom look and taste. If you don't want it to taste dark, increase the sugar instead of using milk chocolate. Through recipe testing, we found that milk chocolate doesn't pair well with the other ingredients and changes the taste too much.
- Butter- You do not need to soften or melt the butter before using. Salted butter is preferred.
- Heavy whipping cream- When whipping this heavy cream, you want to create stiff peaks; you don't want it to be runny or it will ruin the integrity of the pie.
How to make Black Bottom Pie
Use these process shots to help get the results you want. The pictures can help with presentation and texture.
- In a large saucepan, combine the milk with the cocoa powder, corn starch, and sugar.
- Bring to a low simmer while continually stirring. Add the remaining filling ingredients, egg yolks continue stirring for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the butter and vanilla.
- Pour into the pre-baked pie crust and put into the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours.
- Right before serving, whip the heavy whipping cream and generously top the pie. Serve and enjoy!
Hint: Be sure to fully cook the pie crust before adding the filling. It will become soggy if you don't!
Common Mistakes
I didn't realize how quickly the crust would go soggy on this one while recipe testing! I cooked mine until it was a very light golden brown, and the filling absorbed into the crust pretty quickly! Make sure the crust is nice and golden. Otherwise, the crust will become soggy after about a day. A nice, golden, well-cooked crust will keep for about 3 days before going soggy with this recipe.
Top tip
You need to be diligent when stirring the filling while it's cooking. It needs constant stirring to make sure it doesn't scald to the bottom of the saucepan. The scalded part will have a funky texture, and worst case scenario, could even burn, giving the entire filling a burned flavor.
Recipe
Black Bottom Pie
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust prepackaged or homemade
For the Filling:
- ½ cup sugar see notes below
- 3 Tablespoons corn starch
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 4 ounce dark chocolate chopped
- 2 Tablespoons butter I used salted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
For the topping:
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Bake pie crust according to directions.
For the Filling:
- whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, corn starch and salt together in a bowl. Pour the milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until mixed together completely. Add the egg yolks and whisk to combine.
- Using a spatula, stir constantly, scraping the bottom and edges of the saucepan as you stir. When it starts to steam, add the dark chocolate and keep stirring. Bring to a low boil and boil 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. The sauce will start to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.
- Pour into your prepared pie crust and refrigerate for 2 or more hours.
For the Topping:
- Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment or a stand mixer, whip the whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Smooth over top of the chocolate mixture. Top with chopped chocolate, if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- For this black bottom pie, the base is a semi-sweet chocolate. For a dark chocolate (our favorite) try ⅓ cup sugar, for more of a milk chocolate flavor, increase sugar to ⅔ cup.
- It's important to stir constantly and make sure you are scraping the bottom of the saucepan with the spatula. Otherwise the mixture will scald to the bottom and not work correctly.
- Make sure to whip the whipping cream until peaks have formed. For a softer whipped topping, you still want peaks to have formed. We only recommend softer whipped cream if it will all be consumed within a few hours. Otherwise, it will collapse and turn into a soupy mess. If you plan on having any leftovers, we recommend whipping until stiff peaks have formed.
- If not consuming immediately, store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- We do not recommend making this pie more than 1 day in advance, unless storing in the freezer.
- Store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.
- This can be made using a graham cracker crust, but we love the flavor of the filling with a traditional pie crust.
Nutrition
Substitutions
- Dark Chocolate: Make this a darker chocolate by adding ⅓ cup chips. This is our favorite!
- Milk Chocolate: For more of a milk chocolate flavor, increase sugar to ⅔ cup. Don't use actual milk chocolate, it changes the recipe too much.
- Graham Cracker Crust: Instead of a traditional crust, you can use a basic graham cracker crust. We personally prefer the taste of the traditional pie crust, but both are delicious.
Helpful Hints
Be sure to whip the whipping cream until stiff peaks are formed. If your whipped cream is softly whipped, the pie will become a soupy mess!
How To Serve
This pie is topped with a delicious whipped topping, so you don't need additional whipped cream for serving. But you can serve it with ice cream, or drizzle chocolate syrup or caramel sauce. For a fun flavor combo, serve the pie with our Peppermint Pie!
How To Store Black Bottom Pie
The fridge needs to be stored in the refrigerator at all times. Remove to serve, but we suggest returning it right away. To prevent it from becoming soggy, don't make it more than 1 day in advance.
You can freeze this pie! Store for up to 2 months and thaw for 2 hours before serving.
Andrea says
This was a great black-bottom pie recipe to make. It tasted fantastic!