Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Tons of deep chocolate flavor without any cloying artificial sweetness like the pre-made frozen silk pies from the store.
Texture: The filling is so rich, creamy, and decadent and pairs perfectly with the slightly crunchy crust and ultra-light whipped cream.
Ease: This recipe does make a bit of a mess, but the good news is that it’s made ahead of time so it’s perfect for entertaining or bringing to a party.
Pros: A classic recipe without any raw eggs that your family will request for every holiday.
Cons: A bit involved and messy to make, but one bite of the final pie will convince you it was all worth it.
Would I make this again? Every Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, and Christmas!
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Growing up, it wasn’t a holiday without a French Silk Pie with those chocolate curls on top.
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.
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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.
It’s now a yearly tradition. No Thanksgiving is complete without this pie, my decadent Caramel Apple Streusel Pie, and my creamy No Bake Pumpkin Mousse Pie.
This silk pie is perfect for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, Christmas, or any special occasion! I hope it becomes a tradition in your home as well!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make French Silk Pie
The Pie 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 so worth it. I 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). Learn more about Chocolate in Baking here.
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?
- This recipe was designed for a 9-inch deep dish pie plate, like this one.
- If you don’t have a deep-dish pie pan, you may have some filling leftover (hellooo, little snack for you!)
- Because this pie doesn’t go in the oven for long (just a few minutes for the crust to set), the pie pan material doesn’t matter as much as it would for a baked pie. If you choose instead to make a pastry pie crust, however, I recommend checking out my Best Pie Pan article for more information and tips.
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 some of our wonderful 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 Recipes You’ll Love:
French Silk Pie
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Ingredients
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 teaspoons 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
Instructions
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. Set aside to cool to room temperature (around 75°F), 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 separate 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.
Recipe Notes
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This post was published in 2019 and has been updated with additional recipe tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
The best recipe for French Silk Pie I have EVER tried. It comes out PERFECT time and time again. You will not regret trying this recipe. It is now and forever in my pie arsenal 😉
So great to hear this, Crystal!
I’d love to make this in a 9×13 baking dish to feed a few more people at Thanksgiving! Would this same recipe work in that size pan?
Hi Melanie! Depending on the depth of your 9-inch pie pan, they typically hold about 4-5 cups, whereas a 9×13 holds about 14-16 cups. While you could definitely use a 9×13 baking dish, I can’t say for sure exactly how to adjust this recipe as we haven’t tested it.
Made it one year and now my husband requests it for every holiday, even his birthday! Could this recipe be made into a slab pie to feed more people?
So awesome to hear that, Melanie! We haven’t tried this recipe as a slab pie, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! Please let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
When do you add the whipped topping? Can I add it after the 6 hour sit and then still leave it in the refrigerator?
Hi there! Store the pie without the whipped topping. After chilling for 6 hours-up to 2 days, then you’ll make the topping. If you refrigerate the pie with the topping, after about a day in the fridge, the whipped cream will start to deflate and weep onto the surface of the pie. If you were wanting to just prep the pie in the morning for dinner in the evening, that should be fine. Let us know what you think of this recipe!
I’ve made this for 2 Thanksgivings in a row. We love it. Be prepared to use every bowl and utinsel in your arsenal.
It’s a process. It takes love and attention.
It’s worth it. But it’s a process.
What would be the substitute for the eggs please?
Hi Rani! Eggs are an essential ingredient to this recipe, we haven’t tried any substitutions!
I love this recipe and I always get requests for it whenever I have an event, despite how soupy it gets! I can’t quite figure out what I am doing wrong. The flavor is on point but my chocolate mousse doesn’t quite come out airy like in your photos and instead it appears more dense. Then, after being left out on the serving for 15 minutes it totally deflates and looks like chocolate porridge when cut and served. Help! I want it to look as delicious as it tastes.
Hi Cristal! Sorry you’re experiencing issues with this recipe! It definitely shouldn’t be soupy, hopefully I can help! It sounds to me like your filling isn’t setting properly. That’s typically due to too warm of ingredients or a step not being beaten for long enough. Do you heat the sugar and eggs to 160°F? How about your butter, is it warmer than room temperature? Do you make sure the butter/cooled chocolate mixture is light and fluffy and the cream/powdered sugar is beaten to stiff peaks? Each of these steps is crucial in creating an airy but also rich and creamy filling. You also want to make sure that the pie is chilled for at least 6 hours, which is the final step in setting properly. I really hope you try this recipe again, please let me know if you have more questions, hopefully this helps!
Thank you so much, Emily! I will definitely be trying again and be more thoughtful of each of the points you mentioned. I am determined to get this right lol.
Delicious sweet and silky crust crunchy Definitely will become a favorite
My mum and I just made this for my dads birthday today!! It was lots of fun to make and we even tried our own chocolate curls! (Which weren’t half bad! Lol)
We were worried about how it would turn out because the chocolate mixture wasn’t whipping up and the mixture looked runnier then yours was. We thought the only thing that might’ve gone wrong was that maybe the chocolate and egg mixture was too warm when we added it to the whipped butter?
Still set really well and we’re so happy with the finished product!
Thankyou once again for an awesome recipe!
Keep up the awesome work you guys do at HTH. <3
Abby xx
Yay! So happy your pie turned out perfectly, Abigail! It does sound like your chocolate/egg mixture may have been a bit too warm and melted the butter. If you notice that happening with your next pie, try placing it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to see if that helps thicken it up.
Okay thanks so much!
yummmm. This pie turned out so well! I used a pre-made oreo crust and it still was a top notch pie!
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed this recipe, Jessica!
Does this pie freeze well?
Hi Cait! We actually haven’t tried that; however, it should freeze perfectly fine without the whipped cream on top 🙂 Make sure to wrap it with an extra layer of plastic wrap before placing in an airtight container, then thaw in the fridge before adding the topping. Hope that helps!
Looks delicious haven’t made the whipped topping yet.
Ooo you’re missing out, Audrey! Especially with the chocolate shavings on top, the topping is sheer perfection 🙂 I can’t wait for you to try it!