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.
For nearly a decade, I’ve been making chocolate cream pie from a recipe I got in culinary school, and it was always a hit. I decided it was time to try something else for a change, and boy am I glad I found this one! Absolutely decadent, and everything you want from a chocolate pie. I would attach a photo, but everyone tore through it before I could get a camera out! I have a feeling I’m gonna have to make two of them next year.
Don’t be intimidated by the name of this delicious dessert. It really was simple and very good. My family loved it.
Thanks so much for your review, Meg! So happy your family loved the recipe.
This pie is seriously the best pie I’ve had had in my entire life. Like, I’ve never had any kind of pie this absolutely delicious before.
This is going to be on my Christmas menu. Lots of steps and dishes but worth it. Yum!
Best French silk pie!
This is my new go to
I was actually quite scared to make this for the first time, for Thanksgiving especially, lol but it turned out great!! I didn’t end up making the whipped topping cause I ran out of whipping cream. But alas, delicious!! Thanks for such a great recipe 🙂
It’s always a bit nerve-racking making a new recipe for the holidays, thank you for trusting ours! I’m thrilled to hear it turned out perfectly for you 🙂
Hello.
I have not made this pie, so no rating yet… sorry.
I am NOT an expert baker, so please forgive my ignorance, but could 8oz of UNMELTED bittersweet chocolate be added to the egg/sugar mixture just as it comes off the stovetop to cool? Wouldn’t that achieve two things: melting the chocolate AND jump starting the cooling process to room temperature (before adding it to the whipped butter)? Or is there some obvious “chocolate mystery” that I’m unaware of that would prevent this from working? Working with chocolate has so many facets to consider..
Just wondering if this might be an option before I try my hand at this pie. Thank you.
You’ve got me wondering about this now because I understand your logic, so I hope you receive a response soon. I wonder if the chocolate would seize if added to the hot egg/sugar mixture.
I’ve made this pie, and it is wonderful!!
Hi Gloria, sorry we missed seeing your great question earlier! I ran it by Tessa because it sounded like it could work. The concern is that this recipe uses a large amount of chopped chocolate, and adding it directly to the hot egg/sugar mixture could result in uneven melting, leaving a chunky filling. This recipe isn’t quite like tempering chocolate (where you add seed chocolate to cool it down), so we recommend sticking with the written method. If you want to speed up the cooling process, a helpful trick is to transfer the hot mixture to a clean stainless steel pan with a larger surface area—it’ll cool faster and more evenly. I hope that helps!
I just realized I’m out of vanilla extract! I was thinking of substituting maple syrup in the same amount- but for something this delicate (not like a chocolate chip cookie), do you think that would ruin the taste or texture?
My guess is it won’t be quite the same, but I bet it’ll still be delicious
Maple and chocolate go really well together in my book! I think it’d be a nice addition! Maybe reduce the sugar by a tablespoon or so?
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!! I do think the preparation time listed on the recipe may need to be adjusted. It took nearly 1.5 hours for my egg/sugar/chocolate mixture to cool from 160 degrees to 75 degrees… Thankfully I made this ahead of time, but just a heads up!
Again, thank you for this yummy recipe! It’ll be a new staple for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner!
Just finished all but the topping as well which I’m saving for tomorrow. I did put Saran Wrap loosely over mine. Loved that the eggs were slightly cooked!!! Really hard to find a recipe that didn’t use raw eggs. All the utensils tasted great and so far looks really good!! Thanks for this recipe!!
This pie is such a treat for Thanksgiving, we hope you enjoy it! Report back and let us know what you think after tasting it, too! 🙂
My first time making a French Silk pie. The pic is made and chilling overnight to serve tomorrow. I will make the topping tomorrow. Should I cover it overnight with plastic wrap or foil? It looks beautiful! I was licking utensils as I am cleaning up and it tastes delicious. I can’t wait to eat it tomorrow.
Hi Michele! Sorry we missed seeing this — we like covering it with plastic wrap or foil overnight just to make sure it doesn’t pick up any fridge odors, but if you didn’t, I’m sure it’ll be fine! I cannot WAIT for you to enjoy this pie today. Let us know what you think 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving!
Can I use the recipe for a 10 in pie pan with the same amount of ingredients?
Sure, it just won’t be quite as tall!
Is there a different type of chocolate that will work. My store doesn’t have the bittersweet. Can I use semi sweet instead?
That’ll work fine! It won’t be quite as rich in chocolate flavor but still absolutely delicious 🙂
I would try to find dark chocolate vs semi sweet. See if you can find that is a good quality. I also added espresso coffee powder / instant coffee to enrich the chocolate flavor.