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!
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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:
Fantastic! I used gf choc cookie and a tablespoon of instant expresso powder to crust. I had fun playing with all the bittersweet chocolate bars available I mixed 85% 89% 82% Lindt chocolate. Bit messy swapping out bowls but it was outstanding. I will make this again I used a pretty baking dish, Final pie was large and awesome
This was our Christmas dessert, and everyone loved it. I loved that I could easily make it gluten free for a family member with an allergy. I think next time I might make it up as individual servings, because that often feels kinda special for holidays. Thank you for a great recipe that we are all looking forward to having again soon!
My family loved this recipe! I made it with my kids and the recipe was very easy to follow!
This is absolutely delicious and one of the best pies I’ve ever made! Followed the recipe exactly with the exception of the chocolate curls for the garnish. It came out amazing and will definitely make again!! Thank u for sharing this amazing dessert!
I’ve made this twice now and I am a rock star because of it! I doubled the amount of whipped cream for the top just because. I was complimented on the whipped cream not being so sweet and overpowering the taste of the filling. The crust was perfect. I love this recipe!
This pie was amazing! It is definitely a little complicated (and time consuming), but worth it. I used partial milk chocolate in the filling, and it still turned out great.
One of my favorite desserts ever!!! AND I love dessert!
That said I haven’t tried making it yet because I just had it last night at a party. Got the recipe and will definitely make it soon.
Amazing pie! I received so many compliments! Our new favorite pie…delicious!
I’ve made this silk pie twice now (made the filling three times) and it’s the second being in the fridge to set as I type this. The first time I made this pie, it was incredible. Completely flawless. Everything went perfectly and it was light and airy with the perfect amount of sweetness. The crust mixture was almost not enough for my pie pan so I increased it by half with my second attempt.
Tonight I really struggled with the filling and am very worried it won’t be set properly for our family Christmas tomorrow. The first go round was very runny and I just knew it wasn’t right, so I dumped it and started over. This time, the custard was a big thicker, which I thought was a good. I started with colder butter too and split the whipped cream into two parts when I folded it in. Unfortunately, it still seemed to not be as thick as it should have been but I don’t have any choice but to risk it. I have a feeling that my chocolate mixture was too warm when I added it to the butter.
I’ve seen in these comments that several other people have had the same problem and I want to suggest that you edit the instructions to say that the mixture should cool to room temperature or a specific temperature. I feel like “just warm” is subjective and difficult to get right. Otherwise, excellent recipe!
I made this for dessert after our Christmas dinner. The recipe is tedious but 1,000% worth it! It is so silky and light yet just rich enough at the same time. Everyone thought it was delicious and I left with no leftovers. I think I will be making it again on New Year’s Eve. Thanks for the great recipe.
Just made this for Christmas and everyone loved it. The Oreo crust was easy to make and made the pie just perfect! I will be making this every holiday.
The article said NO RAW EGGS multiple times, however, the recipe asks for 4 large eggs. Which is it?
Hi Carly! There are no raw eggs in our French Silk Pie recipe – they’re cooked on the stove with the sugar until they’re safe to eat! Most French Silk Pie recipes call for raw eggs, but cooking the egg mixture on the stove makes our recipe safe for everyone to enjoy. Can’t wait for you to give it a try!
The texture of this pie is exceptional! Love how silky it really is. Next time I make it I will add some salt I think, it was a bit too one-note sweet to me, I think some salt would make it more balanced. Side note, this serves AT LEAST 12.
Sorry I don’t know how I accidentally posted this as a reply to another comment…feel free to delete!