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? Absolutely!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
Growing up, it wasn’t a holiday without a French Silk Pie with those chocolate curls on top.
Whether it was Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas, we always had to have something chocolate. 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.
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.
I hope it becomes a family favorite and maybe even a holiday tradition in your home as well!
How to Make French Silk Pie
The 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 SOOO worth it. I’d 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).
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, the pie pan material doesn’t matter as much as it would for a baked pie – but if you choose instead to make a pastry pie crust, 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 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 Chocolate Pie Recipes:
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Pie
- Chocolate Pecan Pie
- Chocolate Pudding Pie
- No Bake Frozen Chocolate Raspberry Pie
French Silk Pie
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 teaspoon 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. Cool to just warm, 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 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.
This post was published in 2019 and has been updated with additional recipe tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
December 2020 Baking Challenge
This recipe was the December 2020 pick for our monthly baking challenge! Every month you can join the challenge by baking the recipe and snapping a photo for a chance to win prizes! Learn more about my monthly baking challenges here. Check out everyone’s pies:
My family gave it a 1000/10. My husband literally kissed my feet. Tucking this away as my forever French silk pie recipe.
I followed all the steps exactly and this recipe came out perfectly! I didn’t have a deep dish pie dish, so I got a little extra I could sample (spread some on a graham cracker for dessert last night yum!). I can’t wait to serve it tonight for Thanksgiving dessert!
How long do I cool the choc/egg mixture for? I’m just not sure “to just warm” means. Do you have an estimated time?
Hi Ann! No, we can’t really give a timing as it will be different in every kitchen. Most days in my cool kitchen, it will only take 15-20 minutes, but when I made it for Thanksgiving last week while my oven was running as I was baking several other things, and my kitchen was therefore very warm, it took over an hour! Your best bet will be to temp the mixture and wait until it’s about 70°F 🙂 I hope that helps! Happy baking!
Hi. I’ve made this recipe twice now and both times the chocolate and butter mixture don’t get light and fluffy. I followed your directions closely, and for the second attempt I tried someone’s suggestion from the comment section about cooling the butter more before beating. My pie ends up a chocolate cream and not a true silk. Any ideas what could be the issue? I don’t have a stand mixer but instead use a hand mixer. Thank you!
Hi DK! I’m sorry to hear that you’ve experienced issues with this. It’s likely due to your chocolate mixture not cooling enough and therefore overheating and possibly even melting your butter. I just made this recipe for Thanksgiving, and because my kitchen was very warm while I made this, it took over an hour before my chocolate mixture was cool enough to move on to the next step. Make sure that is completely cooled to room temp before moving on next time, and ensure your butter has nicely whipped up, and you should be just fine! I hope that helps! Happy baking 🙂
Every holiday that my grandchildren want pie this one is at the top of the list. It’s not the simplest chocolate pie, but is undoubtedly the best. Where others may be just OK, this one is exquisite. Take the time to learn how to make it and you’ll be glad you did, and so will your grandkids!
So glad this pie is such a hit with your family, Ted!!
Is there a preference on pie pan? I have glass or cast iron enamel. My fruit pie is in metal.
Hi Ann! You can read more about pie pans in Tessa’s Best Pie Pan article here, but the material doesn’t matter so much here because only the crust is briefly baked. I’d recommend using whichever is a deeper pan. Let us know what you think of this pie once you have tried it! 🙂
so do you pre melt the chocolate or let the warmed egg mixture melt.it for you? becuase i read the instructions twice and it appears your chocolate has just magicly been melted?
It says in the ingredients list, “8 ounces (227 grams) bittersweet baking chocolate, melted” so you will melt the chocolate before adding it as instructed. I hope that helps 🙂
Does it need to be covered whilst in the fridge for 2 days (prior to whipped topping)?
Hi Nancy! Either way is fine! I like to cover loosely with plastic (or use the cover your pie plate came with, if you have it). Let us know what you think of this pie once you have given it a try 🙂
Wonderful recipe. I make it for Thanksgiving every year.
What kind of baking chocolate do you use?
Hi Rachel! Any high-quality baking chocolate, such as Ghirardelli, Valrhona, Guittard, etc will work wonderfully 🙂
Ok, talk about an 11th hour Hail Mary – apparently I have to make a CFS pie for Thanksgiving tomorrow – without using dairy.
I love the holidays.
I actually found cream-less whipping cream. Didn’t know that was a thing. I’m hoping I can just throw that in there and it’ll magically work perfectly..
But is there any chance I can use margarine instead of butter, and still end up with something semi-edible?
Also – I’m a terrible cook. So it would be very much appreciated if all responses could be adapted to a level befitting an unimpressive 4-year-old.
Thank you.
Happy, happy holidays.
Hi Theresa! We don’t bake with dairy-free ingredients, so we haven’t tested anything like this! I hope it turned out well 🙂
I am going to make this for a small group, so am just going to buy an Oreo cookie crust. Do I need to bake this as you did your homemade crust?
Hi Barbara! We haven’t tried that, and we do prefer homemade, but your pie should still be delicious with a store-bought crust. Let us know how it goes 🙂
Thoughts on using a dark chocolate instead of bittersweet?
Hi Katie! Tessa talks about this in the pink tip box (above the recipe). Check out the answer to your question, along with countless other great baking tips for this recipe, there! Let us know what you think of this pie once you give it a try! 🙂