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Growing up, it wasn’t a holiday without a French Silk Pie with those chocolate curls on top.
Whether it was Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas, we always had to have something chocolate. You see, I come from a long line of chocoholics. My dad and my grandma love chocolate and sweets just as much as I do.
However neither of them bake, so we always got those frozen silk pies from the grocery store.
A few years ago, I decided to finally make a chocolate French silk pie from scratch for Thanksgiving and it was the most popular pie of the evening! So I knew I had to share the recipe with you ASAP.
I hope it becomes a family favorite and maybe even a holiday tradition in your home as well!
How to Make French Silk Pie
The Crust
I love an Oreo crust for this recipe! It’s so much easier than traditional pie dough and adds an extra dose of CHOCOLATE! Use regular-stuff Oreos with the filling intact. If you’d prefer to use a pastry crust, check out my Best Ever Pie Crust recipe here and follow the directions for pre-baking.
French Silk Pie Filling
Since this recipe doesn’t use raw eggs, it’s safe to serve to everyone.
However, there are a few extra steps and bowls you will dirty while making this recipe – but it’s SOOO worth it. I’d highly recommend reading the recipe through completely before you get started. You’ll need an electric mixer (handheld or stand) and an instant-read thermometer for best results.
What Type of Chocolate Will I Need?
I love using bittersweet chocolate in this French Silk Pie recipe. It brings an intensely rich chocolate flavor. Use high-quality chocolate baking bars, not chocolate chips, for best results. If you’d prefer something more mild, feel free to use semisweet chocolate instead (1:1 ratio).
Whipped Cream Topping for French Silk Pie
- Be sure to top the pie with the whipped cream no more than a few hours before serving, so it looks its best.
- The whipped cream will begin to deflate and weep if topped too far in advance.
- Garnish with chocolate curls (see just below) or a sprinkling of cocoa powder for a pretty presentation.
How to Make Chocolate Curls
Taking the time to make chocolate curls, instead of just shaving a block of chocolate or garnishing with a dusting of cocoa powder, really makes this French Silk Pie look gourmet. Here’s a super helpful step-by-step video on how to make chocolate curls.
What Type of Pie Pan Should I Use?
Can I Make French Silk Pie Ahead of Time?
Yes! This pie actually needs to be chilled for 6 hours before serving, so it’s the perfect make-ahead dessert! You can make it up to 2 days ahead of time. Keep covered in the fridge, then top with whipped cream shortly before serving.
Can I Freeze French Silk Pie?
We haven’t tested freezing this French Silk pie, but readers have done so with success. Just note that freezing may slightly alter the texture after thawing. Place inside an airtight container and freeze for up to one month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before adding whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and serving.
More Chocolate Pie Recipes:
For the crust
-
20
Oreo (230 grams) cookies
(regular-stuffed, keep filling intact)
-
3
tablespoons
unsalted butter,
melted
For the filling
-
1 1/3
cups
(266 grams) granulated sugar
-
4
large eggs
-
8
ounces
(227 grams) bittersweet baking chocolate,
melted
-
2
teaspoon
vanilla extract
-
10
tablespoons
(142 grams) unsalted butter,
at room temperature
-
1 1/3
cups
heavy cream,
cold
-
4
teaspoons
powdered sugar
For the topping
-
1
cup
heavy cream,
cold
-
2
tablespoons
powdered sugar
-
1
teaspoon
vanilla extract
-
Chocolate shavings or cocoa powder,
for garnish if desired
Make the crust:
-
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch deep pie dish with cooking spray.
-
Place the Oreo cookies in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add in the melted butter and pulse until moistened. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie dish. Bake for 10 minutes, or until fragrant and set. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
Make the filling:
-
In a small saucepan, whisk together the granulated sugar and eggs. Set over medium-low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches 160°F and coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the melted chocolate and vanilla until smooth. Cool to just warm, stirring occasionally.
-
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually add in the cooled chocolate mixture then beat on high speed for 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
-
In a clean bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream until it begins to thicken. Add the powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold into the chocolate mixture.
-
Pour the mixture into the pan, smoothing evenly. The pie will be tall with filling. Chill for 6 hours. At this point, the pie can be stored for up to 2 days ahead of time.
Make the topping:
-
Use an electric mixer to beat the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla on high speed until stiff peaks form. Top pie with whipped cream and garnish with chocolate shavings or dust with cocoa powder.
This post was published in 2019 and has been updated with additional recipe tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
December 2020 Baking Challenge
This recipe was the December 2020 pick for our monthly baking challenge! Every month you can join the challenge by baking the recipe and snapping a photo for a chance to win prizes! Learn more about my monthly baking challenges here. Check out everyone’s pies:
I am making this for thanksgiving my husband loves French silk pie, so does my brother-in-law and my grandson. I like it in small amounts too much chocolate for me but that’s me otherwise it’s gonna be a crowd pleaser at Thanksgiving. Thanks for posting this and I’ll let you know what I think of the pie
My son requested French Silk for his birthday so I am going to make this pie this weekend. How long will the fully assembled pie keep? I am a cook not a baker however I love making cheesecakes!
Hi Nette! As mentioned in the recipe, the pie can be stored for up to 2 days ahead of time without the whipped cream. We recommend adding the whipped cream shortly before serving for best results, as whipped cream loses its height, structure and pretty appearance, as well as beginning to weep, the longer it sits. We hope you and your son love this pie! Happy baking 🙂
Fabulous! SO creamy!
Truly silky. Perfectly chocolately. Will 100% make again.
Hi, excellent recipe, except one thing! After I folded in the whipped cream into the butter/chocolate mixture, the resulting mixture had the appearance of curdling. I think it due to the temp delta between the room temp butter/chocolate mixture and the cold whipped cream i.e., the cold whipped cream caused little specs/clumps of butter to form. Is there anyway around this to obtain the silky smooth finish you have? Thank you!
Hi Carlin! It’s so difficult to say exactly what went wrong without having baked alongside you, but it sounds like your butter/chocolate mixture may have been too warm when added to the whipped cream, or your butter wasn’t whipped quite long enough and small chunks of butter therefore weren’t incorporated into the chocolate mixture fully. Alternatively, perhaps your whipped cream was overwhipped and it started to separate slightly. Feel free to push the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, to remove the lumps. Otherwise, your pie should still taste good – it might just have a slightly different texture. Good luck!
Hello! I am looking at making this for thanksgiving. I’ve never made a pie before and need to buy a pie plate. When you say “ 9-inch deep pie dish”, do you mean a deep dish pan or a normal depth pan?
Hi Jessica! A deep-dish pie pan is a little deeper and therefore makes a thicker pie, compared to some more shallow pie pans. Here are a couple of options for 9-inch deep dish pie pans: a ceramic deep-dish pie pan, and a metal pie pan, and a glass pie pan. Happy baking! 🙂
It’s difficult to explain how perfect this pie is. It’s light and decadent and oh-so-chocolatey. I will put it in my repertoire for sure & possibly just make the filling on it’s own, it’s that good. Everyone loved it and I cannot wait to make it for a crowd just to hear the ooohs & aaahs! 5+ stars.
I think you explained it perfectly, Katja! We’re absolutely thrilled to hear how much you love this recipe, thanks for sharing!
I have made this pie 2 times now…… and it is the bomb…… just delicious…. I cheated and bought a chocolate crust both times…. But the filling is just SO good….. I would die and go to heaven if I made the Oreo crust, no doubt! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
This recipe is the bomb! I’m a home baker and while making it I could already tell that the filling combo was excellent. My family liked it so much they requested I make it again soon. So I guess the one con is that if you serve this once, people will be requesting you make it again frequently
I’ve made this twice now and it’s been incredible both times. 1st time I made this in a pie dish, 2nd time I made it in an 8×8 square pan because I didn’t have a pie dish in my new house – both came out excellent and didn’t have to change a thing. will be saving this forever!