Having grown up in Texas, I've eaten at Luby's Cafeteria more times than I can count. They've updated the menu to include healthier fare such as salads and grilled meat, but one thing that hasn't changed much is their dessert section. Part of the fun of going through the line is and always has been getting to the end and seeing the mile high Luby's chocolate cream pie, lemon meringue, layer cakes and fruit pies. Oh, and lots of colored gelatin, which for some reason, tastes better than other gelatin -- so much so that sick friends have asked other friends to bring them gelatin from Luby's. Weird, I know. I would have asked for pie!
It tastes a lot like the chocolate pie my grandfather used to share when he ordered pie, in that it is sweeter and a little bit stiff thanks to the cup of marshmallows thrown in at the end. If you want a slightly creamier, looser pie, you could probably get away with leaving them out completely. However, they do add a nice structure. This pie would be good with either a pastry crust, chocolate crumb or graham crust.
Recipe
Luby's Chocolate Icebox Pie
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups milk, whole
- 1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, natural
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 7 tablespoons cornstarch
- 6 tablespoons water
- 3 extra-large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- 1 9 inch pie pastry, baked
- sweetened whipped cream
Instructions
- In a 3 quart saucepan, combine 2 cups of the milk, sugar, cocoa and butter. Bring the mixture just to a boil over medium heat.
- While the mixture in the saucepan is heating up, in a separate bowl, mix cornstarch and cold water until completely dissolved. Stir in remaining ½ cup of milk, then whisk or stir in the egg yolks and vanilla until well blended.
- Gradually whisk the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture and continue cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes or until mixture is thickened and smooth. Add marshmallows and remove from heat. Stir until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth.
- Pour into pie shell. Press plastic wrap directly onto filling and let cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator and let chill until set (at least 2 hours).
- Spread sweetened whipped cream over the top of the pie. You can use homemade sweetened whipped cream or Cool Whip.
Anna
Gracie, the Luby's recipes can be a little tricky. I haven't had any issues with this pie, but I'll try to make it again very soon and see if I can recreate the problem.
For now, here are some questions for troubleshooting.
1. Is your 6 tablespoons of water cold? Cornstarch needs to be dissolved in cold water, not warm. The half cup of milk should also be cold.
2. Are you using whole milk?
3. Is the mixture thick in the pan and then thinning out later? If that's the case, then an enzyme in the egg yolks could be destroying the starch bonds which are holding everything together and causing it to thin out. To fix that, try boiling the pudding mixture a little longer than 2 minutes (stirring all the while) just to destroy that enzyme in the egg yolks.
You may want to try the Diners Style Chocolate Pie or Perfect Chocolate Pie. Those are both really good too. But I will see if I can figure out why this is happening and I'll add some notes in the post and in the comments for you.
https://www.cookiemadness.net/2015/10/31/diner-style-chocolate-cream-pie/
https://www.cookiemadness.net/2011/11/15/perfect-chocolate-cream-pie/
Gracie
The past two years I been making this pie and it’s been coming out more like chocolate pudding. What am I doing wrong? I use unsalted butter one year and the next year I used salted butter to see if that was the problem and no.
megan
Although I've never been to Luby's, Jeff has eaten there several times. He loves chocolate pie so I will be making this soon!
We are going to Lubbock this weekend to tour Texas Tech with Sabrina - can't wait to see what it's all about. However, it's Homecoming weekend so I'm sure it's going to be a madhouse......
CakeSpy
This makes me so happy--largely because it reminds me of the chocolate cream pie my mom made when I was growing up. It wasn't anything fancy but it was down-home tasty. Just looking at the pictures makes me happy.
Darlene
Looks scrumptious and beautifully plated!