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.
whole family loved it.
Oh. MY. goddddddd!!!
This is one of the most delicious things I have eaten in my life, and it was such a fun process to make! Thank you, Tessa, for the simple, spot-on instructions, and for all the goodness you share with the world. ♥
Great job! A little labor intensive but worth it .
Hi Randy! So glad you enjoyed this pie!! 🙂
Can this be frozen? I tried yesterday and while I ended up with something different – just got distracted and messed up my steps – it was really, really good – with little bits of butter.
Would love to make ahead of time and freeze for the holidays if this is possible.
Hi Vicki! We haven’t tried that, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! I recommend freezing it inside an airtight container, or wrapped well in several layers of plastic wrap, to prevent freezer burn, and then thawing overnight in the fridge before serving. I also recommend topping with whipped cream shortly before serving, for best presentation and flavor. I hope that helps! Happy baking 🙂
I love to cook and bake but I had never made a pie before, this turned out AMAZING! My family and boyfriend thought I bought it and that it was professionally done. The tips in the comments were helpful. To make sure your pie turns out perfectly too I recommend making sure that your chocolate mixture is completely cooled before putting it in with the butter. After cooling my chocolate to warm/cool I poured 1/4 of it into the egg mixture and started stirring it and it felt too runny to me so I stuck the rest of the mixture in the fridge to completely cool it before adding the rest in. That helped for sure. Keep whipping the butter and chocolate mixture together, for mine to get thicker and fluffier I whipped mine for like 10 minutes. I also recommended letting the filling rest in the pie crust overnight in the fridge before adding the topping, mike firmed up really nicely doing it that way. I hope this helps others!
The only changes I made to my recipe were adding 4oz of cream cheese into the whipped cream topping and it was delicious, only doing 1 cup of heavy cream for filling, and using semi sweet chocolate chips! Great recipe 🙂
So happy to hear that you enjoyed this pie, Maria! Good tips, too! 🙂
I don’t have any kind of cooking thermometer, so what is the best way to tell when the sugar and egg mixture has reached 160 degrees?
Hi Zoe! It’s definitely not easy to achieve perfect results without an instant-read thermometer, but when the mixture thickens and coats the back of a metal spoon, it should hopefully be okay. I definitely recommend purchasing a digital instant-read thermometer (this one is available on Amazon, but you can get them in the supermarket or Walmart/Target, too!), to guarantee perfect results. Good luck!
Thanks, I think I should be able to do that. …. determine by thickness and also buy the digital thermometer..
Not quite ready to make it yet since a local bakery turned out their amazing coconut cream pie this summer and I doubt that I would need to keep adding cream pies for a while. But eventually!
Ooh sounds delicious!! Well when you get a chance to try this recipe out, please let us know what you think! Enjoy your locally-made coconut cream pies! 🙂
🙂
This pie turned out beautifully! Instructions were very helpful! Be sure to read directions carefully and very focused when following detailed instructions. Used Giradelli bittersweet chocolate chips. Was a little too bitter for my daughter and I so we will try using part semi sweet chocolate next time.
Hi Jill! Great tips – thanks for sharing! So happy you enjoyed this pie 🙂
This is the best silk pie I have ever had. I even made a gluten free version of the pie and it was amazing!!!!!
That’s so great to hear, Susan! So happy your GF substitutions worked for you, too!
Hi! I want to make it those week, but im wondering…
Can I use semi-sweet? Or will it be too sweet? I just don’t want it too be too bitter!!
I dont mean this offensively
Hi Jasmine! No offense taken at all! 🙂 As Tessa mentions in the pink Tip Box above the recipe, you can absolutely swap out the bittersweet chocolate for semi-sweet if you prefer; the resulting pie will just be a little less intense, flavor-wise, as a result – and possibly a tad sweeter, too. You could always try a 50:50 ratio of the two if you’re unsure – just know that the recipe as-written isn’t bitter at all; the bittersweet chocolate, combined with the sugar in the recipe, just makes for a deliciously decadent, rich chocolate pie 🙂 Let us know what you think when you make this!! Happy baking!
Absolutely delicious! Tastes exactly like I remember a store bought chocolate silk pie tasting! I’m gluten-free so I haven’t had a store bought one in a very long time and I was deeply craving it! I made it with a homemade gluten-free Oreo cookie crust and it turned out wonderfully! Thank you so much for the delicious, easy recipe!
Hi Alicia! I’m so happy to hear that you loved this pie!! I’m glad it satisfied your cravings 🙂
This is the best chocolate moose type pie I’ve ever had! The filling is so rich with dark chocolate flavors and somehow dense and light at the same time. My oreo crust didn’t hold together too well. I’m thinking I need more butter or I didn’t cook it long enough? I cooked it for 12 minutes. The suggestions by other bakers to make sure the melted chocolate mixture was just barely warm before mixing with the butter i think was the trick to get the perfect filling consistency.
So excited you loved this French Silk Pie so much, Heidi! Hmm, that should have been plenty of time for your crust to bake perfectly! Perhaps your oven is running a little cool? Tessa talks about this, and how life-changing an oven thermometer can be!, in this post here! I hope that helps 🙂 Happy baking!
Is there a way of making this gluten free?
Hi Angie! I’m sorry, we don’t test gluten free recipes. Some people have had success with substitutions they have found online, but we cannot speak to the success as we don’t test with anything other than the recipe as written. Good luck!!
I always make this pie two ways: one just as the recipes states, and then another that’s gluten and dairy free (miyokos butter, coconut cream, gluten-free Oreos, etc.). They both turn out EVERY SINGLE TIME.