Chocolate Chiffon Pie

Dec 24 2025

This recipe is from my mom who got it from an old Betty Crocker cookbook that doesn’t exist anymore. I make this with a homemade walnut crust that is completely my own invention. I’ll try to get some form of measurements here.

This recipe is a double recipe of the original and makes 2 pies. You can cut it in half if you want only one, but it’s a lot of work and the work is the same for 1 or 2 pies so why not 2?

Walnut Crust

My mom would make this with a traditional pie crust. I think it’s actually better with this walnut one. You could use any crust you like here. I use a walnut one because it goes really well with the pie, and the pie filling is gluten free so this crust makes the whole thing gluten free.

Ingredients

Tools

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  2. Place all ingredients into a food processor with a blade attachment and pulse until a grainy mixture. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times to get all of the large chunks of walnut chopped up.
  3. Pour roughly half of the mixture into each of the pie plates. Using your hands, press it into a thin layer all along the bottom and completely up the sides. Try to not leave any holes, but make it as thin as you can. Be extra careful in the corners as it tends to get thicker there.
  4. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges seem to darken. Be careful to not burn it. The bottom might still be bubbling with butter and seem a bit lighter, and that’s ok. When it cools, it should be a hard shell.
  5. Leave out to cool for a few hours (while making the pie filling). Place in the fridge if you’re worried about it being too hot.

Pie filling

Ingredients

Steps

  1. Melt the chocolate. I use a double boiler.
  2. Place a small sauce pan with an inch or two of water in it on high heat until it starts to boil.
  3. Place the chocolate into a mixing bowl and place that bowl on top of the sauce pan. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water.
  4. Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon as the bowl heats up from the steam and the chocolate melts. Melt completely.
  5. Stir together 1 cup sugar, the gelatin, and salt in a small saucepan. Stir in the water and chocolate.
  6. Cook over medium heat while stirring constantly until blended. Don’t get it get too hot (no boiling).
  7. Remove from heat. Whisk egg yolks in a small bowl.
  8. Add about a half cup of the chocolate mixture to the egg yolks and whisk until incorporated. Then pour the whole thing back into the saucepan with the chocolate. We want to add heat to the yolks slowly so they don’t cook separately. We’re using the eggs as an emulsifier to thicken the chocolate sauce.
  9. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until the mixture just starts to boil.
  10. Place the pan in a bowl of ice water or chill in the refrigerator. If it’s winter, you may just be able to place it out in the garage.
  11. Stir the mixture occasionally as it cools (like once every 5-10 minutes). Cool until it starts to mound slightly when dropped from a spoon. You don’t want it to cool completely or it will be too hard to work with later, but not cooling enough will melt the other ingredients.
  12. Stir in the vanilla
  13. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tarter until foamy. Beat in 1 cup of sugar, 1 tbsp at a time (A stand mixer works well here). Continue beating until stiff and glossy. Do not under beat. Fold the chocolate mixture into the meringue.
  14. In a chilled bowl, beat heavy cream until stiff. Fold into chocolate mixture.
  15. Pour into pie shell. Chill for at least 3 hours or until set.

My dad always says that it should be served with whipped cream that’s almost as thick as the pie. You can use an electric mixer to combine 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1⁄4 cup of sugar, and a splash of vanilla bean paste and whip until it’s whip cream to make. If you run the mixer for too long, it will become butter, so just be mindful of it.