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.
Am I able to make a double batch or should I make each batch separately?
We haven’t tried that, but it should be fine! You may want to use a larger sauce pan for your sugar and egg mixture. Let us know what you think of this recipe when you give it a try 🙂
You said no eggs – why are there 4 eggs
Hi Kat! I’m not sure where you saw this recipe has no eggs? It has no raw eggs, perhaps you misread?
Hi! My daughter’s birthday is toward the end of this month and her favorite pie is french silk. She requested it for her birthday this year. One thing, she does NOT like Oreos. I know, right?! Haha! What do you think would be a great substitute for the crust to go with this pie?
Hi Marica! While we are major Oreo lovers here at Handle the Heat, using a pastry crust would work well too! We include a link to our Best Ever Pie Crust in the pink box above the recipe, but I linked it here as well. Let us know what you think when you give this pie a try 🙂 Happy birthday to your daughter!
Hi!
I made this pie for the first time a few months ago, and boy was it amazing!! I make it all the time, I use it as my go-to chocolate mousse! I love layering it in between a chocolate sponge.. So good!
Just wondering, do you think it would work to replace the chocolate with Cadburys Caramilk chocolate? Since the caramilk texture is quite different to dark chocolate just wondering if it would have the same result.
Thanks!
Abby
Hi Abby! Love your idea of layering the mousse between a chocolate sponge, yum! We’ve not tried using Cadbury’s Caramilk Chocolate, but would recommend sticking with baking chocolate for best results. Please let us know if you experiment with it though, we’d love to hear how it turns out!
Hi!
I ended up trying it with the Caramilk chocolate. The egg sugar and chocolate mix tasted like an amazing caramel!! When I added it to the butter and was mixing it up it got super fluffy and thick and tasted incredible, but when i was folding in the whipped cream it split so bad and looked disgusting! D:
But then me and my mum melted it down in a pot and it combined again, and we added a cornflour mix and thickened it up, and we ended making an incredible caramilk custard! Then we just made the normal chocolate filling for our Easter cake and it was spot on 😉
Ooo a caramilk custard sounds amazing! So glad you were able to transform your fun experiment into something lovely 🙂
This pie is delicious. It has been the most requested dessert at family gatherings. I discovered it 5 months ago, and I’ve made it probably 5/6 times already. So rich and chocolatey!
Amazing!! So happy you love this recipe so much!
This is my mom’s favorite pie I make. So rich, smooth, and creamy!
Had a great time experimenting with this recipe!! Used mint Oreos for the crust and doubled the amount of whipped topping 🙂 perfect combo of decadent and light flavors and a perfect consistency too!!!
Sounds delicious with the addition of mint Oreos, glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Absolutely amazing! I’ve made this with oreo and regular pie crust (my favorite is oreo) and I have to say it’s the best pie ever!
I would have to say maybe cutting the pie into more than 8 slices, as 1/8 of this can be a LOT of chocolate and whipped cream.
Also, if you don’t have a thermometer at home, I’ve found that the eggs are usually done when a foam starts to form on top and the liquid becomes a very thin viscosity.
Overall, great recipe and will be using it again.
I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out FANTASTIC! I’ll definitely be making this again!
Made this for a family dinner but instead of the chocolate cookie crust, I made the “best ever pie crust”. The French silk pie was fabulous. Easy recipe with clear directions and as long as you start early in the day, you should have a wonderfully silky chocolate pie with fluffy whipped cream to serve to guests. Everyone raved about it and claimed that it was better than any store-bought by far and better than a restaurant pie that we used to get occasionally. My 2 year-old grandson loved it and ate big forkfuls of the silky chocolate and cream, which just melts in your mouth.
It could easily make a 10-inch pie. I did use 78% dark chocolate and no one thought that was too dark but just right! I would not use semi-sweet or milk chocolate as it would loose the perfect chocolate flavor and be too sweet for most palates, even 2-year olds!!
The pie crust turned out more like a quasi-puff pastry crust, so either I put in too many layers or should not have taken the suggestion of using sour cream. I was not a fan of the sour cream flavor in the crust and thought it detracted from the French silk chocolate flavor. After sitting overnight, the pie crust was not crisp anymore. I may stick to ATK pie crust recipes. Overall a wonderful evening with family with a great dessert. Wish we had taken a picture!!
Additional info on above comment: I used a scale for all measurements that I could and do that regularly. Game-changer for baking if you have not tried a scale. Easier to do than measuring cups and more accurate!!
Thanks for your feedback! We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Hi, sounds delicious!! Do you think it would work out to add a drop of mint flavoring to the cream mixture?
Ooo, we haven’t tried that, but great idea! I’d recommend using peppermint extract and not spearmint or mint extract though, just to make sure you stay away from the “toothpaste-y” flavor 🙂 Let us know how it ends up!
This recipe was heaven. I made the pie for my dad because he loves chocolate. I like chocolate but I don’t love love it and this ended being one of my favorite recipes that I’VE EVER MADE! I cannot wait to make it again, it is perfect. Very very rich, but that’s a classic silk pie. I topped with homemade whip cream and Oreos. MAKE IT MAKE IT MAKE IT! YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!