Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Deep chocolate flavor without the artificial sweetness of store-bought frozen pies.
Texture: Ultra smooth, mousse-like filling with a slightly crunchy Oreo crust and cloudy whipped cream.
Ease: A few bowls and steps, but totally manageable. The 6-hour chill time makes it ideal for entertaining.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: It’ll become your most-requested holiday and special occassion dessert (don’t say I didn’t warn you!).
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Growing up, French silk pie meant the frozen grocery store version with chocolate curls on top. It was tradition!
I didn’t realize how much better a homemade version would be until I first made it myself.
I set out to create my own recipe that kept everything I loved, the silky filling, the mile-high whipped cream, but with better chocolate flavor and a cooking method so it’s safe for everyone to eat (no raw eggs!).
After many tests in the kitchen, this recipe is now perfection. I have to make at least two each Thanksgiving and Christmas or my family will revolt.
This pie is actually my all-time most popular Thanksgiving recipe. It’s been made by THOUSANDS of you! I hope it becomes a tradition in your home as well!
Reader Love
This pie is the absolute best! So creamy! My husband tells me we have to find a holiday to celebrate in every single month so we can make this. Yum! We love it!
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Reader Love
Everyone should run to the store, buy all the ingredients and make this! Unbelievable! My family asks for it every year it is that good.
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Sprinkle of Science
Ingredient Notes
Oreo Cookies: Use standard regular-stuffed Oreos with the filling intact. The filling helps bind the crust and adds structure.
Bittersweet Chocolate: For best results, use high-quality baking bars, not chocolate chips. Chips contain stabilizers that prevent smooth melting. Bittersweet provides depth and prevents the filling from tasting overly sweet. You can use the same amount of semisweet chocolate if you prefer a milder chocolate flavor.
Eggs: The eggs are gently cooked with sugar to 160°F to eliminate any food safety concerns. An instant-read thermometer ensures accuracy.
Unsalted Butter: Butter is whipped to create the signature light yet rich texture. It must be properly softened — around 67°F. Too cold and it won’t aerate; too warm and the filling becomes greasy. Feel free to use salted butter if you prefer.
Heavy Cream: Whipped cream is folded into the filling for lightness and structure. The cream must be very cold to whip properly. I recommend a cream with at least 36% milk fat for stability.
For more on selecting chocolate, see my full Chocolate in Baking guide.
How to Make French Silk Pie (Step-by-Step)
I recommend watching the video at the bottom of the recipe card to see me make this recipe first!
1. Make the Oreo Crust
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan.
Pulse 20 Oreo cookies into fine crumbs. Add melted butter and pulse until evenly moistened — it should resemble wet sand. Press firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to compact it tightly.
Bake 10 minutes until fragrant. The crust will look set and matte, not shiny. Cool completely.
2. Cook the Eggs and Sugar
In a small saucepan, whisk together sugar and eggs. I like a flat whisk here.
Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches 160°F and thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. This takes about 5–7 minutes.
Do not rush this step! Too high heat will scramble the eggs. Remove from heat and immediately stir in melted chocolate and vanilla until smooth.
Cool to about 75°F before proceeding. This can take a while so you can speed it up by removing the mixture to a stainless steel bowl so it cools faster. Stir occasionally to prevent a skin from forming.
3. Whip the Butter
In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat room-temperature butter for 2–3 minutes until pale and fluffy. It should look lighter in color and creamy.
Gradually add the cooled chocolate mixture (if it’s too warm, it’ll melt the butter, so be careful here).
Beat on high speed for a full 5 minutes. The mixture will transform from dense to visibly lighter in color and texture. This aeration is what gives French silk pie its signature texture.
4. Fold in Whipped Cream
In a separate bowl, whip cold heavy cream and powdered sugar to stiff peaks. I like to use an immersion blender with the whisk attachment + its paired measuring cup for ultra fast and easy whipping.
Gently fold into the chocolate mixture in 3 additions. The filling should look fluffy and mousse-like, not runny.
5. Chill
Spread into cooled crust. The pie will look tall — that’s correct. It’s best to use your deepest pie pan. If you have too much filling, you can always layer it with Oreo crumbs in mason jars for a chef’s sample later on 😉
Refrigerate at least 6 hours, until fully set. The center should feel firm but still creamy when sliced.
6. Top and Garnish
Whip cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla to stiff peaks.
Spread or pipe over chilled pie. Add chocolate curls or a light dusting of cocoa powder (make sure you’re not near a draft or fan). Top no more than a few hours before serving for best appearance.
How to Make Chocolate Curls
I’ll admit, this is a tedious step, but it really makes this pie look gorgeous. Here’s a super helpful step-by-step video on how to make chocolate curls.
Storage & Make Ahead
This French silk pie must chill at least 6 hours before serving.
You can make it up to 2 days ahead, covered and refrigerated.
Add whipped cream shortly before serving for best texture.
FAQs
Can I freeze French Silk Pie?
I haven’t tested freezing this French Silk pie, but some of my 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.
Does French Silk Pie contain raw eggs?
Traditional versions do, but my recipe doesn’t. The eggs are cooked to 160°F, making it safe to serve.
What’s the difference between French silk pie and chocolate cream pie?
French silk pie is richer even though it has a lighter mousse-like texture. Chocolate cream pie is custard-based (like pudding) .
Can I use a regular pastry pie crust instead of Oreos?
Yes! Use my pie crust recipe and follow the instructions for blind baking.
Why is my filling runny?
The most common causes are:
-Eggs not cooked to 160°F
-Chocolate mixture added while too warm
-Butter not whipped long enough
-Insufficient chill time
Can I double this recipe?
Yes, but cooking and cooling will take MUCH longer. To speed up cooling the chocolate & egg mixture, spread it into two shallow pans before proceeding to the next step.
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, then stir in the melted chocolate and vanilla until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature (around 75°F), stirring occasionally. To speed up cooling, transfer the mixture to a stainless-steel pan with a larger surface area.
- 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
This post was published in 2019 and has been updated with additional recipe tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
I have 4oz of bittersweet chocolate, recipe calls for 8 oz – can I use the 4oz bittersweet and 1/2 cup semisweet choc chips ?
Hi Sam! Yes, that should work just fine – just keep in mind that semi-sweet chocolate is sweeter than bittersweet chocolate, so that will alter the overall sweetness of your pie.
I hope that helps! Happy baking 🙂
Hi Tessa! I don’t own a pie dish. can I use a 9inch springfoam pan instead?
Hi Tina! Other readers have used a springform pan with success 🙂 Good luck! Let us know what you think of this recipe when you give it a try.
Can I make the whipped cream ahead of time, put it on the pie and refrigerate until I’m ready to serve?
Hi Donna! Yes, but we recommend topping with whipped cream no more than a few hours ahead, if possible, for best results. You can prep the rest of the pie up to two days ahead (and store refrigerated), and just top with your freshly whipped cream a few hours ahead of serving. I hope that helps! Let us know what you think of this pie once you have tried it 🙂 Happy baking!
I made this recipe at thanksgiving and I loved it!!! I was wondering if this would work as a cake filling? Thank you
Hi , If you don’t have a round pie glass dish what can you use ?
Hi Eti! Feel free to use an aluminum or ceramic dish if you don’t have glass (readers have used springform pans too!). The type of dish doesn’t matter, but the depth does. If you only have a smaller pie dish, you may not be able to use all of the filling; however, any leftovers can be used to make mini pies or just enjoyed with a spoon 🙂 I hope that helps!
Hands down the best dessert I’ve ever made. I wouldn’t say it’s easy to make but it’s 100% worth it. I find that I’m always left with a lot of extra filling so you could either cut down by like a quarter for the filling OR what I do is I make little mini pies in silicone tart molds and they come out soooo good. Even better crust to filling ratio with the minis!
3rd option eat the extra filling with a spoon over the next week 🙂 I absolutely have done that.
haha we’ve also done the 3rd option 🙂 Thrilled to hear how much you loved this recipe!
Amazing! A must try!
This recipe popped up in my email box, so I thought I’d give it a try despite having go-to chocolate mousse and silk pie recipes. I made it twice. The first time exactly as written, the second making some adjustments based on my experience with the first trial. First, the crust. The recipe instructs to use regular Oreo’s, filling and all. If you do not care for Oreo “stuff,” you may not care for this crust, as its favor is somewhat prominent. Second, the filling & topping. There’s a lot of heavy cream used, and it shows. The pie plus topping is extremely rich. To distinguish between the filling and topping, I ate a few small spoonfuls of filling before topping the pie and asked, “would I want to eat this as a stand-alone chocolate mousse?” The answer was no.There was something off about both the flavor and texture (this was not user error, as I have I lot of experience making various different types of chocolate mousses for different applications, nor was it the chocolate, as a high quality couverture with a cocoa butter content suitable for mousse was used). The pie also lacked salt to round out flavor. For the second pie, only the chocolate wafers of the Oreos were used and a bit of salt added. This was an improvement, but a regular old blind baked pastry crust would have been a good option. The filling and topping were not altered for the second pie because any alterations would have departed too much from the original recipe and not have been a fair comparison, but only a small quantity of whipped cream topping was piped onto the base of each envisioned piece using a piping bag instead of topping the entire pie. This reduced the overall richness. In the end, I gave a three star rating because I can see how the pie might appeal to many, but to my palate the overall pie is too rich, and the filling is no more than average and not worth the (significant) calories.
Wow. Just wow.
Turned out great! Will definitely be making again!
we don’t have any bittersweet chocolate available. will semi-sweet work?
Hi Kari! Yes, that will work just fine – the pie will just be a touch sweeter. Be sure to check out tips on this and so much more, in the pink tip box above the recipe! 🙂
I made this once and it was amazing! Everyone said it was the best French silk pie they have had so I decided to make it for Easter. Do you think I can double this recipe since I need to make multiple pies or should I make one pie at a time? I know some fillings you can double and others are better to do separately.
Hi Nicole! Yay, we’re so happy to hear that you love this pie! I would recommend simply making this pie twice, as it makes quite a lot of filling, and most mixer bowls won’t hold that much – and they may not mix everything thoroughly without overmixing, too. Let us know how it goes! 🙂
This pie is dangerously good. Not many recipes make it in our “vault”, but this one did immediately. We all love it and it is officially replacing our old favorite chocolate pie.
The recipe was very easy to follow. My ten and three year old helped and it still ended up being a quick recipe too.
I’m so happy to have found this recipe. My foodie heart is so delighted.
10/10, 5 stars, highly recommend.