Rob Lowe Still Dreams About This Childhood-Favorite Dessert From His Grandpa’s Diner

It doesn’t matter how old you get—treats from childhood can stay ingrained in your memory forever. Even for celebs like Ryan Gosling, Jennifer Garner, and Cher, their all-time favorite sweets aren’t coming out of fancy 5-star restaurants, but out of their moms’ kitchens. 

For movie star Rob Lowe, the dessert he craved the most as a kid—and still adores to this day—was actually served up by his grandpa at his historic Sidney, Ohio diner. “I still dream about it,” he told Allrecipes in an exclusive interview. 

As Hollywood heartthrob Rob Lowe approaches 60 (can you believe it?!), he largely thanks a low-carb lifestyle for helping him age healthfully and gracefully—but also doesn’t deny that a few decadent desserts every once in a while have made the years all the sweeter. After all, his “default” was set to diner food, he shared.

In partnership with Atkins, we got the chance to speak with our favorite “Brat Pack” actor about his eating habits throughout his career and how his love for Midwestern food followed him to Hollywood and beyond. 

Rob Lowe’s Favorite Childhood Dessert

Raised on Midwestern comfort food from the diner his grandpa ran for 55 years, Lowe developed a strong sweet tooth for all the freshly baked goodies served in-store. But, there’s one he’d reach to more often than any other. “Pies—give me the pies!,” he said.

“I can remember as a little boy,” Lowe recalled, “there was a walk-in cooler that had individual slices of pies up a wall. I still dream about it—chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, apple…” And, of course, there was the pie the diner bakery specialized in: Old Fashioned Cream Pie. (Is it any wonder Lowe’s favorite food holiday is the Fourth of July?)

Of the selection of pies that sat in the counter window, the chocolate cream pie was his regular pick. To this day, it’s still one of Lowe’s favorite indulgences, probably due in part to the pie’s rich, decadent flavor—as well as a tasty dose of nostalgia.

By Lowe’s standards, a good chocolate cream pie is hard to do. “Usually, they make it way too sweet and chocolatey,” he says. But, if it has a nice custard base (like the one he gets from his regular spot, the Apple Pan, in LA), it’s perfection.

If you want to taste the pie that stole a young Rob Lowe’s heart, you can actually try it for yourself. The diner, called “The Spot” still exists today as a historic landmark in Sidney, Ohio, and it’s still serving up pure Americana comfort food from burgers to milkshakes to—you guessed it—pies. 

Or, if you want to recreate this old-school favorite from the comfort of your own home (maybe while you binge watch “West Wing” or “Parks and Recreation” for the third time), here’s how to do it. 

How to Make Rob Lowe’s Favorite Chocolate Cream Pie

We don’t have The Spot’s exact chocolate cream pie recipe, but from the way Lowe described it to us, we think this fudgy favorite is a pretty close copycat. And the good news is it’s incredibly easy to make.  

To start, beat sugar and egg yolks together in a large bowl until nice and creamy. Then, mix in cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt until well blended, and gently stir in 3 cups of milk. 

Pour the mixture into a large saucepan and cook it over medium heat, stirring constantly, until boiling. Once it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove it from the heat, stir in butter and vanilla extract, and set it aside to cool slightly.

Once cooled, pour the chocolate filling into a prepared pie shell, let it chill in the refrigerator until set (at least 2 hours) and top of it off with whipped topping, or homemade whipped cream if you're going for the authentic diner vibe. And with that, your diner-style dessert is ready to enjoy—from Rob Lowe’s childhood table straight to your pie plate.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Cream Pie