Chocolate Velvet Pie

If you have spent more than roughly thirty seconds on my blog, you will know that it’s no secret that I kind of have a special relationship with chocolate. But for those of you who are just meeting me, let me just say this… I love chocolate. I literally have zero self control when it comes to chocolate. Once I have a piece, I can’t stop until I have consumed the entire chocolate supply.

And since we’re getting to know each other, I should probably tell you that I also love pie. Suffice to say, the idea of chocolate and pie coming together in a magical harmony of homemade, baked deliciousness is pretty much my idea of heaven.

So this past weekend I had big, huge plans to make a chocolate pecan pie as a dessert for our weekly family dinners. I just love chocolate pecan pie, don’t you? It’s like eating an ooey, gooey brownie that has been encased in a buttery flakey pie crust…. {drool} Honestly what could be better than that?

I had all of my ingredients ready to go; chocolate, eggs, butter, sugar… that is all of my ingredients except for the pecans. Yep, believe it or not I actually went to the store specifically to buy all of my ingredients for a pecan pie and somehow managed to forget the pecans… aka the most important ingredient in a pecan pie.

Now before I go on, I have to admit that this kind of forgetfulness at the grocery store is not an irregular occurrence for me. In fact these incidents are really quite common for me; Like I basically forget something every time I go to the grocery store, and it’s usually the one thing that I needed the most / made the trip to the grocery store for in the first place.

Does this ever happen to you? What can I say, I’m easily distracted by things… like when I notice that peanut butter is on sale… or that they are offering free cheese samples …or pretty much anything really…

But back to the pecan-less pie fiasco…

So I probably could have just gone back to the grocery store and buy the necessary pecans, but I was running a bit short on time {slash, I really didn’t want to make the trip allll the way back to the store just for some pecans, which I would probably end up forgetting again anyways}.

So instead I decided that I would try and make due with the ingredients that I had stocked in my pantry instead. In all honesty, I started this pie with not the slightest idea of how it would end up tasting – in fact I pretty much figured it would end up a gooey chocolate mess; but somehow it turned out to be what I think is the best chocolate pie I have ever made / tasted in my life.

I really didn’t know what to call this pie, so my little brothers reaction after tasting it was the real inspiration behind its name. His exact words were “How did you get it to be so velvety smooth!?!?”

I know it’s not much of a name, but it really does describe the pie perfectly. The filling is just so chocolatey, smooth and velvety, it almost seems impossible. The evaporated milk with the dark chocolate work to create such a creamy chocolate flavour, and the little additions of vanilla, espresso powder and the Baileys are just the additional flavour cherries on top of this incredible filling.

You are going to absolutely love this pie. Not only because it is so incredibly delicious, but also because it is sooo easy to make.

The filling can be whisked together in one pot un under five minutes, and if you are a little strapped for time – feel free to swap out the homemade pie crust for your favourite store-bought version. There is absolutely no shame in using store bought pie dough – especially since the real star of this recipe is that velvety chocolate filling.

So here is the recipe lovelies and I hope you enjoy!

Chocolate Velvet Pie

** Note: I adapted this recipe from Betty Crockers “Chocolate Fudge Pie” **

Things you need…

Flaky Single Pie Crust
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 cup ice water
pinch of salt

Chocolate Filling
1/3 cup butter
4 oz dark chocolate, good quality
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp Baileys Irish Cream {optional}
1 tsp espresso powder
2 tbsp all purpose flour

Whipped cream and chocolate shavings for serving

How to make…

Flaky Pie Crust
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt until combined. Add in the cold, cubed butter and gently toss the cubes to coat them in flour. Slowly begin to work the butter into the flour with your fingers or with a pastry cutter until pea sized chunks of butter remain.

Next, drizzle the cold water over top of the mixture and use a fork to gently toss the mixture until a ragged dough forms. Turn dough out onto a cool work surface and shape into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill for 30 – 60 minutes.

Once chilled, remove the dough from the fridge and set on a lightly floured work surface. Lightly flour the top and use a rolling pin to roll into a rough circle that is about 1/4 inch thick.

Gently press rolled pie dough into a 9 inch round pie plate; pinch together edges with your fingers to form a crust border. Cover with plastic wrap and set in the fridge while you prepare your chocolate filling.

Chocolate Filling
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and set your rack in the bottom third of your oven.

In a large saucepan over medium low heat, melt the butter and chocolate together until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in espresso powder, brown sugar and granulated sugar; set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together evaporated milk, eggs, egg yolk, vanilla, and Baileys. Slowly pour mixture into the pot with the melted chocolate and whisk together to combine. Sift in flour and whisk until smooth and combined. The mixture will be quite soupy, but don’t worry – this is what you want.

Remove your prepared pie crust from the fridge and pour chocolate mixture into the pie plate. Brush the edges of your pie crust with any extra evaporated milk and sprinkle with some sugar. Place pie onto the rack in the bottom third of your oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes. You want your pie crust to be golden brown, the edges of your chocolate filling to be set and the center to still have a little bit of giggle to it.

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely to room temperature before serving – about 2-3 hours. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Thanks for popping by lovelies and I hope you enjoy!

Happy chocolate pie baking <3<3

KP xoxo