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.
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!
Read Next: How to Make a Lattice Pie Crust
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.
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.
Has anyone used cacao powder instead of melting chocolate for this recipe? I wasn’t sure it would turn out right with the texture.
Hi Briana! Cacao powder and baking chocolate aren’t proper substitutes for one another—the pie would be much drier in consistency and require additional tweaking to the other ingredients in order to get it to possibly work. I’d recommend sticking with the recipe as written for best results! If you’d like to learn more, Tessa wrote a fantastic Chocolate in Baking article that goes more in depth.
Made this last week and it was delicious! Curious how it would turn out with doubling the recipe to make two pies at once?
Hi! I’m doing that right now 🙂 It’s a straightforward doubling, everything just takes longer (to melt, cool, whip, etc.). But otherwise very doable!
The filling is still quite runny and doesn’t seem to be setting up. Is there something I can do? The taste is fantastic! I did try and double the recipe.
Help!
Hi! The filling should be like the consistency of a slightly loose mousse. Did you have a chance to watch the short video at the bottom of the recipe card to compare? If it’s very runny, the chocolate mixture might not have been cooled enough. You can always serve it frozen to set it up more firmly as a last resort!
The recipe calls for 8oz of bittersweet chocolate. Is that 8oz melted or 8oz before melting?
Thanks
You’ll start with 8 oz of chocolate, but melting won’t change the weight! Chocolate doesn’t evaporate when it melts, but it’s a lot easier to measure it out before melting.
This is the best pie ever! So sweet, rich, and indulgent! I am fifteen and I made this last year for a pie auction and won Grand Prize for the best pie! I make this as often as I can and everybody who tries it raves. (Making it for Thanksgiving tomorrow!!)
Is there a way I could make this as mini French Silk Pies in muffin tins?
Thank you so much!
I love you, HTH!
Hi Emily,
Wondered if this is a pie I can add to my make ahead list? I have a big thanksgiving at my house in two days and I try to prep as much as I can ahead of time.
Do you think this would still be good if I make it now?
Thank you looking forward to this recipe
Absolutely! You can make this pie up to 2 days ahead of time — just wait until shortly before serving to top it with the whipped cream 🙂 Let us know what everyone thinks of the pie!
Has anyone tried to freeze the filling separate from the pie crust ahead of time?
Hi Araceli! Freezing the filling will slightly alter its texture, but other readers have mentioned they still love it! Please see the freezing instructions above the recipe here.
This was a total hit for Thanksgiving last year! Thinking about trying a dairy-free version (using coconut milk or coconut cream) for a couple of lactose intolerant folks – has anyone else tried this?
I make this dairy free just by swapping out the regular heavy cream with a dairy free heavy cream! (Silk makes a great one.) The chocolate can be changed for a darker version that is vegan.
My husband is obsessed with French silk pies. When he found out Sam’s was discontinuing there’s he was devastated. This recipe answered the call. It is incredible. It’s a tiny bit messy and does take a little bit of patience, but well worth it. Definitely get everything you need out before you start, that made the process seamless. 100% will make this again!!
It was excellent! I look forward to making it again!
(It took far longer than 30 minutes of prep, though. More like an hour to an hour and a half to make just the filling. I already had pie crust ready to go. Plan for 2 hours at least if youre making crust and topping.)
100% agree. My first time making this, so I expected it to take a little longer anyway, but I’m an hour and a half into the process and still waiting for the chocolate mixture to cool to 75 degrees so I can mix into the fluffed butter. It also took a good while for the eggs and sugar mixture to get to 160 degrees on low to medium (I bumped to straight medium toward the end because it was starting to stall at 138 degrees). Those two parts alone probably take 45 minutes. And to note: I had my supplies out already and prepared the next step or so while waiting for the other to finish. I wasn’t just doing one at a time. Obviously, I’m not done but I’ll try to remember to come back to comment tomorrow after it chills!
So delicious!
I’m hoping to make some smaller versions for my friends! Do you have a recommended temp and time if I wanted to bake 2 smaller pies at once? 6.5 inches x 1.5 inches, ceramic 🙂
Hi Paige, how fun! Since your two 6.5-inch pans together actually have more surface area than the 9-inch pan in the recipe, each crust will be thinner. Bake them at the same temp (350°F), but I’d start checking around 6 minutes and bake until the crusts are fragrant and the centers are set. Let us know how they turn out!