Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

By Irvin Lin

This pumpkin chocolate pie is done “zebra” style, with stripes of chocolate and pumpkin batter spooned into the pie crust. It’s not difficult but once it’s done, it’s a pretty stunning looking pie that looks great on the dinner table. Make sure to bring the cream cheese up to room temperature before making the filling. If you forget, just place the cream cheese (still in the foil wrap) in a bowl of warm water and change the water as it cools. The cream cheese will warm up in about 10 to 15 minutes.

Ingredients
Pie Crust
1 1/4 cups (175 g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (25 g) unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch-processed)
2 tablespoon white granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter, cold
2 to 4 tablespoon cold water

Pie Filling
8 ounces (1 brick) cream cheese, room temperature
15 ounces (2 cups, 1 small can) pumpkin puree, not pie filling
1 cup (200 g) white granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 cup half and half
4 tablespoons (57 g or 1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice blend
1/4 cup (25 g) unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch-processed)

Directions
1. Make the pie crust by placing the flour, cocoa, sugar and salt in a large bowl and stirring together vigorously with a whisk until well blended and uniform in color. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch chunks and sprinkle over the dry ingredients. Using your fingers, smash the butter into small flat pieces, until they are roughly the size of peas. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of water over the ingredients and toss until a dough forms. Add more water as necessary to make the dough form.

2. Once the dough has formed, gather it together and press it into a disk. Tightly wrap it in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour or until it firms up. Once firmed up, roll the dough out into a 11-inch round and fit it into a pie pan, crimping the edges and anchoring it to the edge of the pan. Cover up with the same plastic wrap you used to wrap the dough disk. Place back in the fridge for 15 minutes. While the pie crust is chilling, preheat the oven to 350ºF.

3. Once the oven has preheated and the pie crust has chilled, place the pie crust on a rimmed baking sheet. Prick the pie crust all over with a fork then cover the pie crust with a piece of parchment paper and pour pie weights, dry beans or uncooked rice over it. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove the paper with the weights/beans/rice and bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes or until the top of the crust starts to look dry. Leave the oven on at 350ºF.

4. While the pie crust is baking, make the filling but placing the cream cheese and pumpkin puree in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat the two ingredients together on low speed, until they are well blended. Add the sugar and salt and mix on low speed until just blended. Add the eggs, one a time, beating until just incorporated before adding the second egg. Add the half and half, melted butter, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice blend and beat until just incorporated.

5. Pour half the pie filling into a clean bowl. Add the cocoa powder to the remaining bowl and beat until incorporated and uniform in color.

6. Once the pie crust has done pre-baking, let cool for 10 minutes. Then spoon 1 tablespoon of plain pumpkin puree into the middle of the pie crust. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the chocolate filling in the middle of the plain pumpkin puree. Repeat the process, alternating batters, until the pie shell is completely filled. As you fill up the pie, the filling will start to look striped on top. You may have a little pie filling leftover, just discard it.

7. Carefully move the pie back to the oven and bake for 45 to 50 minuts or until the center of the pie just barely jiggles. Let the pie cool to room temperature then refrigerate overnight before serving.

Makes 1 pie, serves 6 to 8 people.