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.
I first made this last year at Christmas. Everyone loved it! It’s now become my favorite pie recipe. It’s a little time and work to make, but sooo worth it!!! Especially with the chocolate curls!
Yay! So thrilled to hear that this is such a hit with your family, Tammy!! 🙂
Will the pie be more set/thick after it sits in the fridge for 6 hours? This is my first time doing a chocoloate pie without the chocolate pudding bags!
Hi Chelsea! Yes, this pie will thicken as it cools down further in the fridge. Let us know what you think of this pie once you’ve given it a taste! 🙂
It was delicious but I feel like it was too sweet. What can I do to make it less sweet?
Hi Mayra! The easiest way to downplay the sweetness is to use a more bittersweet or even unsweetened chocolate. I hope that helps! Happy baking!
I made the pie and all the ingredients but my pie still hasn’t set after 6 hours.? What did I do wrong
Hi Raymond! Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that your pie didn’t set up properly. Did you use a digital instant-read thermometer when cooking the egg/sugar mixture? It can be difficult to tell if the mixture reached the correct temperature without a thermometer, unfortunately. Issues can also arise if the sugar/egg/chocolate mixture wasn’t cooled enough when added to the whipped butter, as the butter can melt and lose the air we just whipped into it. Also, if your whipped cream doesn’t fully reach stiff peaks the mixture won’t be thick enough. I hope something here helped! If not, feel free to reach back out and we can continue to troubleshoot together 🙂
This a request for every holiday meal and as a replacement to birthday cake for birthdays! This recipe is my family favorite!
That’s so wonderful to hear, Jaime!
Could the chocolate/egg/sugar mixture be rewarmed if it were allowed to cool too much? Could a person put it in the fridge and come back to finish the filling later?
Hi Julie! If you haven’t already started, I just want to mention that both the pie crust and filling can be made up to 2 days in advance, to help with prep for the holiday! If you have already started, however, and got to this point before needing to stop (and placed the sugar/egg/chocolate mixture in the fridge overnight), I would then recommend letting the mixture come up to room temperature, either by leaving it on your kitchen counter for an hour or so, or heating it extremely gently over a bain-marie, to take the chill off entirely. Then you could proceed with the recipe as-written from there. We haven’t tested making this pie this way, so I can’t guarantee the results – but it should work just fine. Let us know how it goes! Happy baking!
I was disappointed mine turned out like pudding like some others have stated. Fortunately, I read the comments and was able to redeem the mixture by beating it several more minutes with my stand mixer! Excited to serve it on Thanksgiving!
So glad you were able to save it, Deb! Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
I made this last Thanksgiving and my family gave it a huge thumbs up! My 9 year old granddaughter is helping me prepare pies this year and requested we make the French Silk pie first. It has become a favorite and a holiday tradition for us!
Yay! So happy to hear that, Linda!!
This looks delicious! How long before serving can I add the whipped cream topping? Would it be ok if I added it in the morning or is it better as an add right before you serve kind of thing?
Hi Natalie! You can top this pie with whipped cream up for 2 days in advance, but I recommend topping it the morning you’re serving (up to a few hours) beforehand, for best results. No need to add right before you serve, though. Let us know what you think once you’ve given this pie a try 🙂 Happy baking!
What size pie pan did you use?
Hi Emily! As mentioned in the recipe, this was written for a 9-inch deep pie dish. Let us know what you think if you give this pie a try 🙂
Will this only be good for the two days? I made it today (saturday) for thanksgiving (5 days from now). And I made it in an actual pie dish instead of a foil one so now I can’t freeze it I don’t think.
Hi Allysia! Yes, we only recommend you keep this pie for 2 days for best results. Any longer and the pie will likely start to seep, and it may spoil. We haven’t freezing this pie, many of our readers have done so with success. You won’t be cooking it again or anything, so your pie dish should be fine to freeze (unless it’s glass, and then I’d double check if it’s tempered glass that’s safe to freeze). 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 have never made 1 these b4,and this is pure silky chocolatey heaven.,Thank You soooo much I did use use half bittersweet & half semi sweet perfect!!!
Hmmm for some reason mine (before refrigerating) I found some small pieces/bits about 1/4 Long that felt sticky/rubbery. Almost like curdling? Any idea where I may have gone wrong?
Hi Stephanie! It sounds like those are little bits of egg that probably hit the side of your hot pan and instantly cooked. Next time, give the eggs a really thorough whisk with the sugar, to be sure to fully combine the eggs and sugar before they hit the heat, and perhaps also heat the egg/sugar mixture over a slightly gentler heat, to give them a chance to cook slowly. I hope that helps! Happy baking 🙂