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Espresso Black Bottom Pie is a decadent cream pie made with an Oreo cookie crust, chocolate mousse layer in the middle, and topped with an espresso-infused whipped cream.
Incredible Espresso Black Bottom Pie
We served this Espresso Black Bottom Pie for Thanksgiving dessert last month – and wow – everyone loved it! (I have a feeling we will be making this pie every year from now on.)
This amazing Espresso Black Bottom Pie has a chocolate Oreo cookie crust and a rich chocolate mousse layer in the center – topped with a light and creamy whipped espresso-infused topping. If you love the combination of coffee and chocolate together – this pie is for you!
What is a Black Bottom Pie?
Black Bottom Pies originated in the Southern region of the United States. While there are some different variations, the common ingredients are a dark chocolate “black bottom” cookie crust, a chocolate pastry cream or pudding in the middle, and whipped cream topping.
Today’s espresso-infused version is adapted from the cookbook License to Grill to by Chris Schlesinger. (This is the same chef who created our amazing chocolate peanut butter pie recipe – so if you love that pie, I suspect you’ll love this pie too!)
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Unsalted Butter
- OREO Cookies
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs
- Heavy Cream
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- Vanilla Extract
- Cornstarch
- Whole Milk
- Unflavored Gelatin – This is used to stabilize the top whipped cream layer.
- Cold Water
- Instant Espresso Powder – Or ground espresso beans (if you use the beans, you’ll need to strain the grounds out as an additional step).
Product Recommendation
Keep a jar of this rich and flavorful Espresso Powder on hand for any recipe that calls for coffee or espresso flavor.
Once you have this on hand, use it to make Malted Mocha Bars, Mocha Bread Pudding, Malted Mocha Swiss Roll, and more!
Tips and Tricks
- This pie isn’t difficult to make, but it is a bit time-intensive, mostly because you need to refrigerate the pie between making each layer.
- Just leave yourself plenty of time for each step and have a number of mixing bowls and spatulas on hand. The time spent making this pie is completely worth it!
- If you are traveling with this pie, you can put it in the freezer to firm up for travel. Just be sure to let it soften back up before serving – it’s meant to be a light and creamy pie.
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Espresso Black Bottom Pie
A decadent cream pie made with an Oreo cookie crust, chocolate mousse layer in the middle, and topped with an espresso-infused whipped cream.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 teaspoon cold unsalted butter
- 3 cups Oreo cookie crumbs (about 3/4 of a 15.5 ounce package)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
For the Mousse
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the Espresso Cream
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk, divided
- 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 6 tablespoons ground espresso beans (or 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder)
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- To make the crust: Butter a 9-inch deep dish pie plate with the cold butter. In a food processor, pulverize the Oreos into crumbs. Pour crumbs into a mixing bowl and add the melted butter, stirring until fully combined. Pour the crumbs and butter mixture into the pie plate and press to evenly spread the crumbs across the bottom of the plate and up the sides. Press the crumbs firmly in place. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool and refrigerate.
- To make the mousse: In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix until just blended. Add in the cream, cooled melted chocolate, and vanilla and mix until smooth. Pour into the chilled pie crust and then chill for one hour.
- To make the espresso cream: In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and corn starch and set aside. In a second small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and ¼ cup of the milk. Set aside. In a third small bowl, combine the gelatin and water. (Stir if necessary so that the gelatin fully dissolves.) Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 1 ¼ cups milk and the espresso. Heat over medium high heat just until small bubbles start to form around the edges of the milk—but do not allow the milk to boil. If you are using espresso beans, strain the mixture (it’s ok if some of the espresso bean grinds remain but you want to strain out most of them). If you are using the instant espresso, no straining is necessary.
- Whisk the sugar and cornstarch mixture into the hot milk mixture. Add a few tablespoons of the milk mixture at a time into the egg mixture to warm it up (this is called tempering and it will prevent the eggs from cooking and turning into scrambled eggs!); then add the egg mixture to the rest of the milk mixture in the pan. Cook the milk-egg mixture on medium heat until it thickens up slightly (about 2-3 minutes). Add the gelatin mixture and stir well until the gelatin is fully dissolved.
- Remove the pan from the heat and pour into a bowl. Place this bowl over a larger bowl of ice water (called an ice bath) and stir constantly to cool and thicken some more (do not allow any of the ice water to get into the milk mixture). Keep stirring every few minutes to keep the mixture smooth.
- In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form (being careful not to over whip the cream). Fold the espresso cream and whipped cream together until incorporated. Refrigerate about 30 minutes until cold.
- Pour the espresso cream mixture over the mousse in the prepared pie crust and chill for 2 hours to set up before serving. (May be refrigerated overnight as well.)
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Espresso Black Bottom Pie ahead of time? Yes, you can make this pie up to a day or two ahead of time.
- How do I store this pie? This pie should be kept refrigerated until ready to serve. We stuck a few toothpicks in the top, then covered it with plastic wrap. (The toothpicks will stop the plastic wrap from sticking to the top of the pie.)
- Can I freeze this pie? You can, but you’ll want to soften the pie before eating.
This Espresso Black Bottom Pie originally appeared on A Family Feast in November 2012. We updated the photos and post but the delicious recipe remains the same.
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