So, this is a recipe I made a while ago, for my brother’s birthday.
This tasty dessert has three main elements (and a very important layer of oreos) that make for a great birthday dessert. Or just a fun snack for a get-together. Or something you can make at the beginning of the week and then nibble on for a while because its delightful and no one should have it but you (I have no room to judge that type of life decision).
It is also a fairly easy dessert, but it does take a bit of time and mothering.
First up, the crust. I like this particular crust recipe because it ends up tasting more like a cake and adds a very distinct layer to the dessert. You can absolutely use a store bought crust or your own personal favorite pie crust recipe, all will taste great. So, to make the thick crust, lay down a piece of parchment paper on whatever surface you are working at, this is to make the mess easier to clean up and reduce waste. Honestly, I just hate washing dishes, so throwing away the mess is great.
Anyway, add the flour, powdered sugar, and baking powder and salt to the parchment and give a little mix. Place the butter and cream cheese on top and cut them into tiny pieces into the forming dough. Gather everything together, make a well in the center and pour in the milk. Knead the dough gently until it all comes together. This is the exact same process to make a standard pie dough.
If the dough is a bit to sticky to work with at this point, you can wrap it up and chill it for 10 minutes or so. When the dough is ready, roll it out to about 1/2 inch thick, then fold it in thirds. The dough will be kind of stubborn and not roll even, that’s fine, it will corporate soon. Rotate the dough and roll out again. Fold into thirds, rotate, roll, and fold. The dough should have plenty of layers now and it’s time to rest, for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
While it chills for now, preheat the oven to 400F and start getting the custard ready. This dessert is made with a stove top custard, so get out a medium sized sauce pan and throw in the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, salt and egg yolks. Then pour maybe 1/2 cup of the milk in and stir everything to a fairly smooth paste, then add another 1/2 cup and make sure that mixes in well. After that, add the rest of the milk and stir.
Hopefully the oven is preheated now, so set the chocolate soup aside for now and grab the dough. Roll it out to fit into the bottom of a 9×13 casserole style dish, it will be thicker then you think dough should be, but it will be okay. Place the dough in the oven and let it cook for 5 minutes before turning the oven down to 350F and allowing the crust to bake for another 20-25 minutes.
Now that the crust is baking, place the pan of chocolate goodness over low heat. Start at the lowest heat you can. While whisking constantly, let the mixture gently warm for 2-3 minutes before turning the heat up to the next setting, still low heat. You will do this for every heat setting on the stove until you reach high heat and the chocolate starts to boil. Then turn it down to medium heat, let the custard boil for 2 minutes, then take it off the heat. Stir in the vanilla, butter and cream cheese until melted and the crust should be about done.
As a note here: I use this method of making custard because I am awful at tempering eggs. I end up with a watery scrambled mess every time I try that. So instead, I gently bring the whole thing to a boil so that nothing has to chance to overcook. It takes a bit more time, and a lot more mothering, but I have never messed up a batch of custard using the gradual heating method.
But now the crust and custard are done. So, layer your 18 oreos onto the top of the crust.
And then pour the custard right over top. And yes, you are meant to do this while the crust and custard are still hot. Or, I’ve never bothered to test what would change if I let them cool down first. I’m impatient.
Anyway, cover the dish and let it rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours. It does not need to be fully chilled, just set on the very top and not steaming.
Now for the cream. Pour the heavy whipping cream in a bowl, add the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt, then whip it to soft peaks. Crush some more oreos, I recommend around 12 (is it obvious yet that I usually keep the 6 packs of oreos you would back in a lunch on hand and not a regular or party sized container? At least 6 is a nice number to work with.) and mix them into the whipped cream. Spread the cream over the custard, cover the dessert again and allow the whole thing to rest overnight.
Then it’s fair game. Slice and serve as much as you want. The custard pie will last great for 5 days. After that the quality will start to degrade, but you can technically stretch the dessert to last you 7 days. After that, I really think you should be sharing what’s left.
Oreo Chocolate Custard Pie
Ingredients
- Crust:
- 1 1/2 Cups flour
- 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Stick Butter
- 4 Ounces Cream Cheese
- 1/2 Cup Milk
- 18 Oreos
- Custard:
- 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
- 1/4 Cup Corn Starch
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 3 Cups Milk
- 4 Egg Yolks
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 8 Ounces Cream Cheese
- Whipped Cream Topping:
- 2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Salt
- 12 Oreos, Crushed
Instructions
- To make the crust: Lay down a piece of parchment paper and add the flour, powdered sugar, baking powder and salt on top of it. Give the dry ingredients a quick mix. Place the butter and cream cheese on the flour mixture and cut the fats into the dry ingredients until only pea sized pieces remain. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk. Mix everything together and give it a brief knead. Roll the dough out to about a half inch thick then fold into thirds. Turn the dough and roll out again, and fold into thirds. Roll and fold one more time and the dough should be be ready to rest. Wrap the dough in the parchment paper and rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, turn on the oven to 400F. After the 30 minutes, roll the dough into a rectangle that will fit into the bottom of a 9×13 inch dish. It will be thicker then you think it should be. Place the crust into the oven and bake for 5 minutes before turning down the heat to 350F and baking for another 20-25 minutes.
- Start on the custard: Place the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, salt and yolks in a medium sauce pan. Pour in 1/2 cup of milk and mix everything to a paste. Add another 1/2 cup of the milk and mix again. Then you should be good to add the rest without worrying about any egg or cocoa clumping issues. Place the pan over low heat, stirring almost constantly. After a few minutes on the lowest setting, bump the heat up one number higher. Let it heat for another few minutes and raise the heat again. Continue this pattern until you reach the highest heat and the custard finally starts to boil. Lower the heat to medium and allow the custard to boil for another 2 minutes, still constantly stirring. Pull the pan off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, butter and cream cheese. Set aside at room temperature.
- When the crust is done, pull it out of the oven and add the oreos on top in three rows of six while the crust is still hot, then pour the custard over top of the crust. Allow to rest until no longer steaming, then cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- After the custard has slightly cooled, make the whipped cream by whipping together the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Whip the cream to soft peaks, then crush up the 12 oreos and add them in. Add the whipped cream on top of the custard, cover it up, and let the dessert rest overnight.
- Slice and enjoy within 5 days of making. Keep it stored in the refrigerator.