Happy Friday! Thanksgiving is almost here and I’m excited to share Mickey’s Chocolate Swirled Pumpkin Pie! This delicious twist on a classic Thanksgiving dessert has a chocolate pie crust and a pumpkin spice filling with a dark chocolate swirl. Of course, everything is better Mickey shaped, so each pie sliced is served with a dollop of whipped cream and chocolate Mickey ears!
Pumpkin pie is my favorite Thanksgiving dessert and maybe even my favorite pie. And so of course it’s one of two pies I make every year for Thanksgiving. This year, I’m getting a little bit of a head start on my Thanksgiving pies so that I have more time to enjoy them!
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I love a regular pumpkin pie (and if you’re looking for a recipe, you can try mine), I was inspired to try something new after seeing a picture of how pumpkin pie is served in Disney World. The picture I saw had a slice of pumpkin pie with a dollop of whipped cream and Mickey ears made out of two chocolate rounds. I loved the look of it, but thought it would be even better if chocolate was even more present in the pie. So I decided to make some changes to my usual pumpkin by swapping in a chocolate pastry crust and a bittersweet chocolate swirl. The Mickey ears decorations are so cute that they definitely had to stay!
First make the chocolate pie crust by combining the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine and then sprinkle the butter pieces over the flour mixture. Pulse the mixture until it resembles a coarse meal with a few pea-sized pieces of butter.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, vinegar, and ice water. Drizzle the liquid mixture over the flour mixture and pulse just until the dough comes together.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and shape it into a 1-inch thick disk. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for one hour.
Place the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to a 14-inch round. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie dish. I used a glass Pyrex pie dish for my pie. I generally like using glass pie dishes because it’s easier to see the bottom of the crust when baking.
Trim the crust, leaving about a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under and use your thumb and forefinger to crimp the edge. Chill the pie crust in the freezer for 15 minutes before lining the pie crust with parchment paper and filling it with pie weights or dried beans. I used two sets of ceramic pie weights for my pies.
Bake the crust at 350 F until it is dry around the edges, about 20 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and pie weights and bake an additional 3-5 minutes, until the surface of the crust is dry and set. Let the pie crust cool slightly while you make the pie filling.
To make the pie filling, mix together the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Then, stir in the pumpkin puree and the sugar mixture before gradually stirring in the evaporated milk. Pour the filling into the pie crust shell and drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the pie.
Bake the pie at 425 F for 15 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 350 F and bake for an additional 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. If needed, cover the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil to prevent burning.
Cool the pie on a wire rack for two hours. Serve or place in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, cut the pie into slices. Add a dollop of whipped cream to the center of each slice. Add two chocolate rounds to whipped cream dollop to make Mickey’s ears. I used store bought whipped cream and Ghirardelli dark chocolate melting wafers for my decorations!
Enjoy Mickey’s Chocolate Swirled Pumpkin Pie! Happy (early) Thanksgiving!
Mickey’s Chocolate Swirled Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
Chocolate Pie Crust
- 1 cup + 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup cold water
Pumpkin Pie Filling
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
- 1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
- 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
Decoration
- whipped cream
- chocolate rounds
Equipment
- 9-inch pie plate
- food processor
- parchment paper
- pie weights or dried beans
Instructions
Chocolate Pie Crust
-
Combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine.
-
Sprinkle the butter pieces over the flour mixture. Pulse the mixture until it resembles a coarse meal with a few pea-sized pieces of butter.
-
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, vinegar, and ice water. Drizzle the liquid mixture over the flour mixture and pulse just until the dough comes together.
-
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and shape it into a 1-inch thick disk. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for one hour.
-
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
-
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 14-inch round. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie dish.
-
Trim the crust, leaving about a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under and use your thumb and forefinger to crimp the edge. Chill the pie crust in the freezer for 15 minutes.
-
Line the pie crust with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights or dried beans. Bake the crust until it is dry around the edges, about 20 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and pie weights and bake an additional 3-5 minutes, until the surface of the crust is dry and set.
-
Let the pie crust cool slightly while you make the pie filling. Adjust the oven temperature to 425 F.
Pumpkin Pie Filling
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In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt.
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In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Then stir in the pumpkin puree and the sugar mixture.
-
Gradually stir in the evaporated milk.
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Pour the filling into the pie crust shell.
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Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the pie.
Assembly and Decoration
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Bake the pie at 425 F for 15 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 350 F and bake for an additional 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. If needed, cover the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil to prevent burning.
-
Cool the pie on a wire rack for two hours. Serve or place in the refrigerator.
-
When ready to serve, cut the pie into slices. Add a dollop of whipped cream to the center of each slice. Add two chocolate rounds to whipped cream dollop to make Mickey’s ears.