French Silk Pie

This creamy French Silk Pie is a classic dessert that features a silky chocolate filling that’s made completely from scratch and no raw eggs! Serve it when entertaining friends and family, for potluck gatherings, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or as the sweet ending for any special dinner. 

What is French Silk Pie?

French silk pie is a lightly and fluffy chocolate pie with a mousse-like filling. It’s been a popular dessert served for holiday gatherings, potlucks and special occasions for decades. Classic French silk pie is made using raw pasteurized eggs, but in this recipe I’ll demonstrate how to use eggs for richness that are cooked prior to making the fluffy chocolate mousse filling, if you don’t care for consuming raw eggs. It requires several steps to make, but none of them are difficult.

Ingredients to Make French Silk Pie Recipe

Ingredients to make cooked French Silk Pie: (Scroll down for full printable recipe card.)

• Pie Shell – One 9-inch flaky pie crust made in advance. You could also use refrigerated pie crusts or a frozen pie shell.
• Chocolate – Chopped bittersweet chocolate gives the filling a deep chocolate flavor.
• Sugar – Granulated sugar for sweetness.
• Whole Eggs – Four large eggs stabilize the filling.
• Butter – Salted butter for richness.
• Coffee – Instant espresso intensifies the flavor of the chocolate without giving it a mocha flavor.
• Flavoring – Vanilla extract balances the chocolate flavor of the pie filling.
• Whipped Cream Topping – Heavy whipping cream beaten with powdered sugar gives the mousse-like filling it’s fluffy texture.
• Garnish – Shaved chocolate or chocolate curls for garnishing.

How to Make the BEST French Silk Pie Recipe

• Make the Pie Crust: Make the flaky pie crust  per the recipe. You can do this a couple of days in advance to save time.
• Freeze the Crust: Roll the crust and press it into a greased 9-inch deep dish pie pan and crimp the edges. Dock the bottom with a fork. Freeze for 1 hour or overnight.
• Blind Bake Pie Crust: Fill the crust with beans or pie weights. Bake the crust in a preheated oven per the recipe until the crust is golden brown, then set aside to cool.
• Make Chocolate Filling: Bring water to a boil in the bottom of a double boiler. In a heat proof bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar. Place the bowl over the simmering water. Whisk regularly until the mixture reaches 165°F. Remove from heat and allow to cool until just warm.
• Melt the Chocolate: Melt the bittersweet chocolate in the microwave until completely melted and smooth. Mix in espresso to chocolate, stir to fully combine.
• Add Egg Mixture: Pour egg mixture over melted chocolate and whisk until fully incorporated. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• Make the Filling: In a large bowl use a mixer to cream the butter beating until fluffy. Add the vanilla extract, mix on low speed just until combined.
• Beat in the Melted Chocolate: Gradually add chocolate mixture. Increase the speed to medium-high, beating until the mixture increases in volume and lightens in color, about 5 minutes.
• Make the Whipped Cream: In a clean medium bowl use an electric mixer to beat together cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar to stiff peaks. Fold 1/2 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture.
• Transfer to the Crust: Pour the french silk pie filling into crust, leveling the surface with an offset spatula.
• Chill: Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. Garnish with additional whipped cream and chocolate, then slice and enjoy!

Tips for Making French Silk Pie

• Kitchen Equipment You’ll Need: Large bowl, medium bowl, small microwave safe bowl, hand mixer or stand mixer, double boiler, whisk, measuring cups, measuring spoons, 9-inch deep dish pie dish or pie pan.
• Freezing the Crust: Why freeze the crust? This prevents the crust from shrinking while baking and the butter prevents the foil from sticking.
• Aluminum Foil or Parchment Paper: You can use parchment paper in place of aluminum foil for lining the pie shell for freezing.

Recipe Variations

• Pastry Crust: You can use a refrigerated pie crust or a frozen pie crust for a timesaver. Bake the crusts per the package instructions then make the filling per the recipe.
• Oreo Cookie Crust: You could make this pie using a crushed Oreo crust or chocolate graham cracker crust.
• Chocolate: You could use dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips in place of bittersweet chocolate.
• Whipped Cream: You can garnish the top of the pie with Cool Whip, if desired. Cool Whip or a similar frozen whipped topping is more stable than fresh whipped cream and will hold up better for storage.

Storage and Leftovers

• Leftovers: Store any leftover French Silk Pie in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap chilled in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
• Freezing: You can freeze this pie for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge and garnish with whipped cream just before serving.

More Chocolate Dessert Recipes to Make

• These Mini Chocolate Tarts are a gorgeous individual size dessert.
• If you like German Chocolate Cake you’ll flip for my German Chocolate Pie.
• Start your morning with a stack of Chocolate Chip Pancakes.
• Bakers of all skill levels can make this Chocolate Dump Cake.
• Baked Chocolate Doughnuts are fudgy and rich.
• Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake doesn’t require any eggs to make.
• Drizzle ice cream with this Dark Chocolate Fudge Sauce.
• Treat the family to a fresh batch of White Chocolate Cookies.
• White Chocolate Lemon Truffles from Affair From the Heart.

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Helpful Kitchen Items:

• Measuring Set
• Mixer
• Mixing Bowls
• Double Boiler

Print

French Silk Pie

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword chocolate-silk-pie, french-silk-pie

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Chill Time 8 hours hours

Total Time 8 hours hours 50 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Calories 613kcal

Ingredients

• 1 9 inch flaky pie crust
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 8 oz roughly chopped bittersweet chocolate (60%)
• 4 large eggs room temperature
• 1/2 tsp instant espresso
• 10 Tbsp salted butter softened (plus additional for aluminum foil)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract divided use
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• shaved chocolate for garnishing

Instructions

• Crust: Make the flaky pie crust and chill per the recipe. Roll the crust and press it into a greased 9-inch deep dish pie pan. Cut any excess dough, leaving a 1/2-1 inch overhang. Fold overhang under itself, creating a thicker ring of crust around the edge. Use the finger pinch method to crimp the edge. Dock the bottom with the tines of a fork.
• Brush a sheet of aluminum foil liberally with butter or spray with cooking spray. Place the buttered surface inside the pie shell, pressing onto the crust. Freeze for 1 hour or overnight.
• Blind Bake Crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Fill the crust with beans or pie weights. Bake the crust with foil for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights. Continue to bake another 10-15 minutes, baking until the crust is golden brown. Set aside to cool.
• Make Chocolate Filling: Bring 2-inches of water to boil in the bottom of a double boiler. In a heat proof bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar. Place the bowl over the simmering water. Whisk regularly until the mixture reaches 165°F with an instant read thermometer. Remove from heat and allow to cool until just warm.
• Melt Chocolate: While egg mixture is cooling, chop the bittersweet chocolate and place in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals at 50% power, stopping to stir between each interval. Repeat the process until mixture is completely melted.
• Add the espresso powder to the melted chocolate stirring to fully combine. Pour the egg mixture over the melted chocolate and whisk until fully incorporated. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• Make the Filling: In a large bowl use an electric mixer to cream the butter beating until fluffy. Add 1 tsp vanilla extract mixing on low speed just until combined.
• With the mixer on low speed gradually add chocolate mixture stopping to scrape down sides of the bowl periodically. Increase the speed to medium-high, beating until the mixture increases in volume and lightens in color, about 5 minutes.
• Whipped Cream: In a clean large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer) beat together heavy cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract and powdered sugar to stiff peaks.
• Gently fold 1/2 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Next, add the remaining whipped cream, gently folding until no white streaks of cream remain.
• Pour the chocolate filling into the crust. Level the surface with an offset icing spatula.
• Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. Garnish with additional whipped cream and shaved chocolate, if desired.
• Cook's Note: To make extra whipped cream for the topping you'll need an additional 1 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 cup of powdered sugar. Use 2/3 of the whipped cream for the filling and decorate the top with the remaining whipped cream. You can also use Cool Whip for the topping.

Notes

• Pastry Crust: You can use a refrigerated pie crust or a frozen pie crust for a timesaver. Bake the crusts per the package instructions then make the filling per the recipe.
• Oreo Cookie Crust: You could make this pie using a crushed Oreo crust or chocolate graham cracker crust.
• Chocolate: You could use dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips in place of bittersweet chocolate.
• Whipped Cream: You can garnish the top of the pie with Cool Whip, if desired. Cool Whip or a similar frozen whipped topping is more stable than fresh whipped cream and will hold up better for storage.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 613kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 183mg | Sodium: 266mg | Potassium: 271mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 53g | Vitamin A: 1243IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 3mg

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