A chocolate lovers pie with three layers of chocolate and fresh cherries. It has a creamy chocolate filling between a layer of ganache and a layer of cherries. A chocolate crust adds even more chocolate to this decadent dessert.
Black Forest Pie (For the Serious Chocolate Fans)
So here’s the thing, I’m not a full-on chocolate person. I like it fine. A good brownie? I’m all in. But this? This pie? It’s a lot of chocolate. I kept putting it off when my daughter Natalie asked me to make it. She saw it in a magazine and wouldn’t stop hinting. But when she was about to move to New York, I caved. Obviously.
It has layers. Literally. A chocolate crust, a rich ganache, a creamy stovetop chocolate filling, fresh cherries cooked until jammy, and a pile of whipped cream on top. It’s intense, but if you’re the kind of person who orders chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and maybe a side of chocolate ice cream… well, this is your dream pie.
What Makes It Special (Even to Me)
- You’ve got three kinds of chocolate doing their thing, each adds something different.
- The cherry layer? Essential. It cuts the richness just enough.
- The whipped cream on top isn’t just for show. You need that creamy softness to balance the chocolate punch.
- It slices beautifully and doesn’t collapse into a mess, even after sitting in the fridge for a couple of days.
It’s not hard, but there are a few parts. Take your time. It’s worth it, especially if you’re baking for a special occasion or a true chocolate fiend.
What You’ll Need
This is just a brief list of what you’ll need to make this pie. Make sure to check the recipe card for the full list of ingredients.
Crust
You can use a homemade chocolate crust, or just skip the cocoa powder and go with a regular pie crust. Honestly? With everything else going on, no one’s going to notice. Just make sure it’s fully baked and cooled before you start piling things in.
Chocolate
I used a mix of dark and semi-sweet—dark for the ganache, a combo for the filling. If you love dark chocolate, go all in. You’ll need 9 ounces total.
Cream + Milk
Heavy cream for the ganache, filling and whipped cream topping. Whole milk, too. Don’t swap in skim or half-and-half, it’ll throw off the texture.
Cherries
Fresh or frozen. Cook them down with sugar and lemon juice until they’re soft and a little syrupy.
This is the chocolate pie you’ll want to make for special occasions like birthdays or for the holidays or for special guests. There are a few more steps than with a simple brownie pie, or a chocolate chess pie, but one bite and you’ll be convinced that it’s worth it.
A Couple of Steps for Making a Black Forest Pie
Step 1: Make the crust
Make a pie crust and fully bake it. You can use a store bought pie crust, or you can leave out the cocoa powder and use a traditional pie crust.
Step 2: Make ganache
Heat heavy cream and add dark chocolate to it, I use the microwave for this. Once melted and smooth, pour it into the pie crust.
Step 3: Cook the filling
For the chocolate filling, heat cream and milk and add chocolate. In a separate bowl combine sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks. Add a little of the hot chocolate mixture to the egg mixture so as not to curdle the eggs then add it all back to the chocolate mixture and cook until thick and bubbly.
Place plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate for 45 minutes.
Step 4: Add cherry layer
Cook the cherries with some sugar and lemon juice until soft and thickened. Once completely cool, spread it over the chocolate layer and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Step 5: Top with whip cream
When you’re ready to serve this amazing chocolate pie, let it warm up just a little on the counter. The ganache will get hard in the refrigerator and it will be easier to cut through if it sits on the counter for a couple of minutes.
Is this pie rich? Yep. Decadent? 100%. If you don’t love chocolate, one or two bites will do the trick. But for Natalie? She ate a slice a day until it was gone. Even when the crust got soft, she didn’t care.
Me? I’ll stick with my brownies. But I have to admit, it’s kind of stunning. And if you’re trying to wow a chocolate lover, this is the one.
Don’t Forget!
Like and review this post – it helps our website grow so we can give you more delicious Southern recipes!
Equipment
- Cherry Pitter
Ingredients
PIE CRUST
- 1 cup flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons butter Cold and cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ⅛ cup water
GANACHE
- 4 ounces semi sweet or dark chocolate finely chopped
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
CHOCOLATE FILLING
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
- 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate finely chopped
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon butter room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
CHERRY TOPPING
- 3 cups fresh cherries pitted and halved (you can use frozen)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- splash bitters optional
Instructions
- Pie crust: In a food processor, add flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt and pulse to combine. Add cold butter, cut into 1 inch pieces, and pulse until you have pea size chunks of butter. Add vinegar and water and pulse until the dough starts to come together. Place on floured surface and knead until all flour is incorporated, it won’t be smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough out and place in a pie pan, poke with a fork all over and let it chill while the oven preheats to 425º. Place a piece of parchment paper or foil covering the pie crust and add pie weights or dried beans etc. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the pie weights and parchment and continue to bake for 2-3 minutes until it is golden brown and looks dry. Cool completely.
- Ganache: Place the cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for 15 seconds, then gently stir until it is smooth. Pour the warm ganache into the cooled pie crust and spread it evenly over the bottom. Let this cool for 15 minutes before adding the pie filling.
- Chocolate filling: In a saucepan, heat the milk and cream over medium heat until it simmers. Add chocolate and stir until melted. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, cornstarch and salt together then whisk in the egg yolks. Pour about a quarter of the hot chocolate into the egg mixture a tablespoon or so at a time, whisking constantly. Add the egg mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat stirring constantly until it is very thick and large bubbles form. 3-5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Pour on top of the ganache in the pie crust and cover with plastic wrap, with the wrap pressing directly onto the warm surface. Place in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes.
- Cherry Topping: In a saucepan, add cherries and lemon juice. In a small bowl stir surge and cornstarch together and add to the cherry mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until the cherries are soft, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla and bitters and spread out onto a cookie sheet to cool. Once cool, remove the plastic wrap from the chocolate pie filling and add the cherry mixture on top, spreading it evenly. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Serve with whipped cream. (to make whipped cream combine a cup of heavy cream with 1/4 cup sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla and beat until medium peaks form.)
Notes
- You can leave out the cocoa powder in the pie crust.
- Add the hot chocolate filling to the eggs a little at a time so that you don’t curdle the eggs.
- Make sure the chocolate filling is thick before removing it from the heat.
- This pie will need to be refrigerated.
Nutrition
I first published this Black Forest Pie on my Southern food blog Butter and Baggage.
