The inspiration for Mocha Cream Pie came about when I was about 5 years old. My grandmother would always let me take the last sip out of her coffee cup, right or wrong, I LOVED it. Coffee with a ton of cream & sugar; cafe au lait love! My grandmother sugared and creamed her coffee to the point that it was more like a dessert (she was genius). I think my grandmother would have loved this dessert.
I haven’t decided if I like it more with or without whipped cream, I totally enjoyed it both ways.
Even though I am not a coffee drinker, I do love that creamy coffee taste! So today we are combining “coffee” and chocolate for Mocha Cream Pie! I thank heaven and earth for coffee substitutes, Pero is my go-to brand (intel from a friend who lived in Italy says Pero tastes closest to the real deal).
First up, preparing the crust with a generous layer of chocolate ganache, which serves two purposes: 1) If your cream pie sits in the fridge for a few days, the ganache works as a barrier and keeps the crust firm. 2) The ganache adds another layer of decadence making a great cream pie fantabulous!
Once the ganache is whisked smooth, heat it for about 10 to 20 seconds in the microwave and pour about 1/2 cup in the crust, swirling the pan slowly so it coats the sides and then pop it in the fridge while you prepare the filling. Here’s a recipe for easy Chocolate Mocha Ganache if you more detailed instructions.
Does this not look just heavenly? I could just eat this by the spoonfuls.
I promise you are going to love yourself some Mocha Cream Pie. Don’t forget to save the last slice for yourself!
Mocha Cream Pie
Ingredients
Mocha Cream Filling
- 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 1-1/2 cups pure cane granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup Pero (or 1/4 cup instant espresso powder)
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 4 whole eggs
- 1 recipe chocolate ganache (to layer on crust and garnish on top)
- 1 prepared chocolate graham or chocolate cookie crust
Chocolate Mocha Ganache
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon Pero powder or 2 teaspoons espresso powder (omit for regular ganache)
Instructions
Chocolate Mocha Ganache
- Place chocolate chips & butter in glass or metal mixing bowl, set aside.
- Heat cream with Pero (or espresso powder) in saucepan over medium-high heat until just starting to boil.
- Remove from heat and pour over chocolate chips to cover completely. Let sit undisturbed for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, whisk by hand until fully incorporated, glossy & smooth.
- Pour about 1/2 cup of the warm ganache into the prepared chocolate crust and gentle tilt the pie crust back and forth to coat sides and bottom. Place in the refrigerator while preparing the filling.
Mocha Cream Filling
- In an electric mixer (I like KitchenAid) on high speed, beat the butter and sugar until white and fluffy (10 – 12 minutes). This is a very important step!
- Add the cocoa and Pero (or espresso powder) and beat with mixer an additional 5 to 6 more minutes. (A little sugar grit may still be there at this point, but if you have properly beat the times above, you are fine, once the eggs are added the grit goes away.)
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating each into the filling thoroughly. After the last egg is mixed in, beat the filling an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the vanilla and spoon filling into the prepared crust. Chill about 3 to 4 hours before serving.
Turned out really good!Thanks for the recipe!
This makes me happy & I wish I could take a bite right now!
I would like to make this for a birthday celebration. Are the chocolate chips milk chocolate or semi-sweet?
Thanks
I used semi-sweet, but with all of the ingredients the darker chocolate mellows and sweetens up reminiscent of milk chocolate. However, use what you have on hand!
My pie willt not “set” even though it has been in the refrigerator for 24 hours. The filling is so runny!
Pop it in the freezer. I did a freezer Mocha Cream, but I updated the recipe to more like a French Silk cream pie. I deleted the old recipe and I wonder if you have that version. Dang, so sorry. I will double check the blog. In the meantime, email me and I will figure out what went wrong. portlandiapielady@gmail.com
Was this a recipe you printed awhile ago or was this the current recipe on the blog?
I followed your instructions completely as far as beating the sugar and butter. Even after whipping for a long time my filling was a little griddy from the sugar. Also cooked my eggs with little whipping cream so they wouldn’t be raw. Overall, the pie has an excellent flavor.
With the eggs cooked, it’s probably why there was a bit of grit at the end. You can use powdered sugar for a substitute (I will update the recipe). This is by far one of my favorite pies!
Is there a way to cook the eggs and incorporate so they aren’t raw?
You can pasteurize the eggs first. They will still be raw but any bacteria they could possibly have would be eliminated. It’s the same way they pasteurize eggs for eggnog you buy at the store. https://bakingbites.com/2011/03/how-to-pasteurize-eggs-at-home/
We had Mocha Cream Pie every Thanksgiving since I was little (the early ’50’s).
It was always my favorite.
The crust was a standard (non-chocolate) flour pie crust, with the same Mocha Cream filling you use, and the whole pie was covered with real whipped cream, so that you
got whipped cream in every bite!
I love it when old recipes are found to be what we think are new ones! Yum! Thank you for sharing!