coffee-chocolate cream pie

A friend commented that this dessert is as good as it looks and very scrumptious. Yes, it is! I had made it as a sweet ending to our Christmas dinner this year. It is a pie made of choux pastry, a pastry which I normally use for making cream puffs (eclairs are also made from the same pastry). There are 4 layers to it and the recipe here is presented in 4 steps with the ingredients and method given together.

Ingredients and Method:

1. The choux pastry pie base

1 cup water

1/2 cup butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

(a) Melt the butter in water in a pot and bring it to boil. Then remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the flour and mix well.

(b) Beat in one egg at a time, making sure it is completely beaten into the dough before adding another egg. The dough should be wet and if lifted up with a spoon will drop down.

(c) Lightly grease with corn oil a glassware baking pan (20 cm by 30 cm and 6 cm depth) and spread the choux pastry dough evenly on the bottom and at the sides.

(d) Bake the pie base in an oven preheated to 200 degrees celcius for 20 minutes or until it turns golden brown and rises and puffs up. Leave it to cool just as it is and do not touch or attempt to flatten out the air.

2. The cream cheese chocolate pudding filling

2 cups milk
2 tablespoons white sugar
180 gm chocolate pudding powder (from a packet)
8 oz cream cheese, softened








(a) Use a pot to heat the milk and dissolve the sugar in it. Add the chocolate pudding powder, mixing in well. Then let the pudding to cool in the refrigerator, allowing it sufficient time to thicken.

(b) Add the thickened pudding to the softened cream cheese, whisking into a smooth paste. Pour the cheese pudding into the pie base and put in the refrigerator to set.

3. The whipped cream topping

1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar)

(a) Whip the cream and icing sugar until thickened and stiff. Cover the cheese pudding filling completely with the whipped cream. Put the pie back into the refrigerator, while you do the final topping.

4. The coffee sauce topping

400 ml strong black coffee

3 tablespoons corn flour
2 tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract





(a) Add a little water (make sure water is not hot) to the corn flour and stir until dissolved.  Mix well the cornflour liquid with the black coffee.

(b) Pour the coffee-cornflour liquid mixture into a pot, add the sugar and vanilla extract and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until it bubbles and thickens. Remove from heat and leave it to cool completely.

(c) Pour the coffee sauce topping over the whipped cream layer of the pie. Put back the finished pie into the refrigerator until completely set (about 2 hours) before serving.