This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy.
Chocolate haupia pie is a popular pie found in Hawaii. It’s a rich chocolate pie with a coconut haupia layer and topped with whipped cream.
Hawaiian Haupia Pie
Haupia Pie is a widely popular pie found in Hawaii. It can have many different variations, like a sweet potato haupia pie, but the most popular is probably the chocolate haupia pie recipe. There are many bakeries in Hawaii that serve this delicious pie so it’s hard to say which bakery made this pie first but I think it is safe to say that it was Ted’s Bakery on North Shore Oahu that made it famous. Chocolate haupia pies are the perfect blend of chocolate, coconut, and cream and it just might be my favorite pie of all time. Ever.
What Is Haupia?
Haupia, in a nutshell, is Hawaiian coconut pudding or custard. The coconut mixture is thicker than what most would consider “pudding” on the mainland and almost has a gelatin-like consistency. Think of it like a cross between pudding and gelatin. That’s the best way I can describe it to someone who has never had haupia before. The haupia layer is supposed to be thick and should not have a “cream pie” consistency.
Ted’s Bakery
Any time I had family or friends visit me in Hawaii, I would always take them to Ted’s bakery. Of course, the chocolate haupia cream pie was a favorite, but they have SO MANY delicious menu items it was (and is) so hard to choose. I am a big fan of the pineapple macadamia nut cheesecake and strawberry guava pie as well. To be honest, I never had anything at Ted’s that I didn’t like. If you visit Sunset Beach (or just pass through), you MUST stop in to Ted’s Bakery and get slice of pie (and maybe even a plate lunch). Have you been to Ted’s Bakery? What is YOUR favorite thing to get?
What’s In Haupia Pie?
- Pie crust – You can use a pre-made pie crust or make your own. Try our favorite homemade pie crust recipe. You can also go non-traditional and use a graham cracker pie crust or Oreo pie crust.
- Coconut Milk (Unsweetened) – Use fall-fat only. If you use “light” or fat-free it won’t set up the same, or taste as good.
- Milk – We like to use whole milk in this recipe but you can use a lighter milk or even almond milk. It won’t be as rich if you don’t use whole milk but it will still be good.
- Sugar – The sweetener in the recipe.
- Thickener – In this recipe we use cornstarch and milk but you can also use arrowroot or agar agar. To learn more about these other thickeners when making haupia, check out our haupia recipe.
- Melted Chocolate Chips – Most people prefer semi-sweet chocolate chips because it is a nice balance of sweetness. We actually like using dark chocolate chips most of the time but it makes it VERY rich and not as sweet. If you like it really sweet, use milk chocolate chips. You can also use a cup of your favorite plain chocolate bar like Trader Joe’s chocolate bars or Hershey’s instead of chocolate chips.
- Whipped Cream – Homemade is best, just follow the instructions in the recipe. Add a little coconut extract and you won’t be disappointed.
Optional Toppings
It isn’t necessary to add any toppings to haupia pie, it is perfect as-is. You can even leave the whipped topping off and it will still be delicious. However, if you feel the need to make it more fancy you can add a little bit of toasted coconut, crushed macadamia nuts or some dark chocolate shavings over the top of the pie dish. Don’t go too crazy with the toppings because you don’t want to take away from the deliciousness of the pie itself. Less is more when it comes to this pie!
More Authentic Hawaiian Recipes
Loco Moco
Chicken Long Rice
Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken
Hawaiian Beef Teriyaki
Huli Huli Chicken
Authentic Hawaiian Mac Salad
Haupia
Malasadas
How to Make Chocolate Haupia Pie
Chocolate Haupia Pie
Video
Ingredients
Chocolate Haupia Pie
- 1 (9-inch) pie crust (store-bought or homemade)
- 1 ½ cups whole milk, divided
- 5 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk (not fat-free or light)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (see notes above)
Whipped Cream
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract (optional)
Instructions
Chocolate Haupia Pie
- Generously pierce the crust with a fork before baking.
- Bake according to recipe or according to package directions, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow the crust to cool.
- In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, combine ½ cup whole milk and cornstarch. Mix until cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of whole milk, coconut milk, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, whisking often.
- Stir the cornstarch mixture once more before slowly adding to the coconut milk mixture, whisking constantly. Continue whisking until the mixture becomes thick, like a thick pudding. (This coconut milk pudding is the haupia.) It is very important that the mixture is thick before moving to the next step.
- Place about half of the haupia mixture into a separate bowl and set aside. Add chocolate chips to the remaining mixture in the saucepan and stir until the chocolate chips are completely melted and well combined.
- Add the chocolate haupia mixture immediately to the cooled pie crust and smooth with a spatula until even.
- Carefully add the remaining haupia mixture over the top and carefully smooth over until even.
- Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours.
Whipped Cream Topping
- To make whipped cream, whip heavy cream, and sugar until stiff peaks form. Add coconut extract and whip for 30 more seconds.
- After the pie has cooled, cut into slices and top with whipped cream topping. You can use a piping bag fitted with a large star tip to pipe the whipped cream in a design over the top.
Love this taste of Hawaii! It took me back to one of my favorite places. 🙂
I love the combination of chocolate and coconut. Great recipe!
I live in Hawaii and make haupia frequently. If your mixture is not thickening it probably needs to be cooked longer. Cornstarch needs heat to work and is not like gelatin so it isn’t going to firm up a whole lot more in the fridge.
Made this with dark chocolate, as suggested above, and cut the sugar a little bit. So so good! My whole family loved this. It set beautifully for me and the thin white layer on top looked as pretty as the picture. Thanks!
This turned out perfect for me! I lightly compacted the cornstarch into the measuring spoon when measuring, and I made sure to keep the pudding on the heat until it was very thick, like a set pudding consistency. Thoroughly enjoyed this pie! I made a macadamia nut + graham cracker crust that went really well with it.
Another reader here whose mixtures didn’t set. Please listen to your readers and change the recipe or delete it, wasted a lot of food and time.
We will review this recipe and try to find out why it’s not working for some people. Which thickener did you use?
Hello, Thank you for the reply! Cornstarch, as stated in the ingredients. 🙁
I have make several recipes (not from this page) and waste lot of ingredients, but I never go back to a page and be mean.
I replace the cup of sugar with 1+2/3 cup of powdered sugar and the pie was settle fine.
Greeting from Greece!
Mine did not set, either. Followed the recipe to the letter – twice.
What am I doing wrong?
When troubleshooting this recipe, we have found that most people don’t let the filling get thick enough in the pan in step 4. It should be extremely thick, like a pudding cup. I hope this helps!
Thank you for the recipe, i have made it twice now 🙂 I didn’t tweak any of the ingredients. The only thing I’ve done differently is i lower the heat before adding the cornstarch mixture and mixed it until is thickened up, then i remove the pot from the heat. This is a cooking technique i use regularly when adding cornstarch mixture.
Oh boy. I should have read the comments. Mine didn’t set up either. Hoping it eventually firms up in the fridge. It’s a bit like a haupia swirl pudding. I make chocolate pudding pie all the time, so I should have realized the consistency was not right with this. I think it needs to cook longer, but there were no real instruction on how much to cook it.
Yum! Came out wonderful. Such an easy, beautiful, and tasty treat! A tip for those whose pie wouldn’t set—use powdered sugar instead of regular. It already has some cornstarch in it, so along with the other 5T in the recipe, that made my pie set up nicely. 🙂
My haupia did not set either and I’d kept stirring. I think it needs an adjustment in technique. You have to keep it on the heat after adding the corn starch mixture. Stir vigorously until it thickens, then take it off heat. Kind of like making a creme patisserie.
Made this and it turned out wonderfully! Followed the directions exactly! It thickens much quicker so pay attention. Delish!
Last time I was at Ted’s they had no Pineapple Macadamia Nut Cheesecake …it’s my second favourite after the Chocolate Haupia Pie! My father-in-law who lives near Diamond Head thinks I’m nuts to drive all the way to the North Shore for pie…but I do!!! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Hey I know you commented this awhile ago but I need to know…does it taste close to the teds chocolate haupia pie they make????
Hell no! Ted’s is the best
This is totally my new favorite pie! I used Belgium chocolate for a rich flavor instead of semisweet. Even though it doesn’t need a topping, I put toasted coconut, chocolate and toasted , chopped Marcona almonds. So I nicknamed this Almond Joy Pie.
Great recipe!!!
Great recipe! Read the reviews and cooked the haupia much longer than I probably would have without reading and everything set up perfectly! Thank you!
Can you freeze this pie?
We haven’t tried freezing it before, so I can’t say for sure.
How do i keep the regular haupia from going inside the chocolate mixture when I’m pouring it on top. I did as directed and the haupia poured into the chocolate instead of sitting on top. Help please.
The chocolate haupia should be quite thick. It should be like a dense pudding so the regular haupia can be added to the top. Maybe there wasn’t enough thickener in your original haupia mixture? If this happens again in the future, maybe allow the chocolate layer to cool a little in the refrigerator before adding the rest? I’m not exactly sure what could have happened. Hopefully it still tasted ok?
Delish! I was a Lil nervous after reading some comments but had no issue with mine setting. If it doesn’t look like pudding consistency Don’t add it to the pie yet! Was going to try to freeze leftovers but there weren’t any!
Haupia should have the consistency of pudding, so it should be able to sit on top of the chocolate haupia. Maybe you need to set aside more haupia before adding chocolate chips to the other “half”
Wow. This is incredible! So creamy, rich, and delicious! Wow!
I’ve never heard of this but it looks so good I will HAVE to try it! YUM!
Oh my goodness, this pie looks amazing!! I would love a slice! YUM!
I added RumChata to the whipped cream. Yummm
What’s not to love about this pie? I’ve never been to Hawaiia but having this pie is the next best thing to being there. 🙂
Mine was so soupy and never set up! Reading others, they have much more corn starch… is 5 tbsps correct?
Oh no! We use 5 tablespoons, but if yours didn’t set up, you can try more.
So ono and easy! I continued to cook the haupia after adding the milk/cornstarch mixture on low heat until it thickened. Everything set up quite nicely! Thank you for the recipe. It makes me homesick for Hawaii.
Wow! So deliciously rich and satisfying. What a yummy treat. Thanks for this great recipe!