We love the cinnamon in Mexican chocolate. For this pie, we surround a smooth chocolate-pudding filling with cinnamon—a crumbly spiced graham cracker crust below and cinnamon whipped cream on top.
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2000s Recipes + Menus
Chocolate Cinnamon Cream Pie
Serves8
- Active time:30 min
- Start to finish:3 1/2 hr
November 2008
For crust
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs (from about twelve 5- by 2 1/2-inch crackers)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
For filling
- 6 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (no more than 60% cacao if marked)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar, divided
- 2 whole large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For whipped cream
- 1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream
- 5 tablespoons confectioners sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
For chocolate curls
- 1 (3- to 4-inch-thick) chunk bittersweet chocolate
Make crust:
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Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
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Stir together all crust ingredients. Press over bottom and up side of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake until set, 12 to 15 minutes, then cool.
Make filling:
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Melt chocolate in a large bowl (see Tips).
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Stir together cornstarch and 2 Tbsp brown sugar in a small bowl.
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Whisk together whole eggs and yolks in another bowl, then whisk in cornstarch mixture.
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Stir together milk, cream, salt, and remaining brown sugar in a heavy medium saucepan and bring just to a boil over medium heat. Pour half of milk mixture into egg mixture in a slow stream, whisking, then pour egg mixture into remaining milk mixture. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking, 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into melted chocolate and whisk to combine.
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Transfer hot filling to crust and chill, its surface covered with parchment, until filling is cold, about 3 hours.
Make whipped cream:
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Beat cream with confectioners sugar and cinnamon using an electric mixer until it holds stiff peaks. Spoon over chilled filling.
Make chocolate curls:
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Hold chocolate in your hands (or microwave on low power in 10-second intervals) until surface softens slightly. Using a vegetable peeler (preferably Y-shaped), “peel” large chocolate curls onto a paper towel. If curls are too brittle or don’t form easily, rewarm chocolate just until surface softens.
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Sprinkle curls on pie.
Cooks’ notes:
- Crust can be baked 2 days ahead and kept, loosely covered with foil (once cool), at room temperature.
- Pie can be chilled, loosely covered with plastic wrap (once cold), up to 1 day.
- Keywords
- lillian chou,
- mexican,
- chocolate,
- pie,
- dessert
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