French Silk Pie Recipe
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This tasty classic French silk pie recipe with chocolate filling and homemade crust is the perfect dessert. You will love the rich, decadent flavors in this amazing pie.
Something about light, creamy desserts keeps me coming back for seconds. If you like the same kind of sweet treats, then try out my Buttermilk Chess Pie or Banana Pudding.
French Silk Pie
French silk pie consists of a chilled chocolate mousse filling until set in a par-baked pie crust and topped with whipped cream. This American pie recipe was developed in the 1950s when Betty Cooper won with an ice box pie. It got its name from its smooth, silky mousse-like filling.
There are a few variations to the pie, including using chocolate whipped cream as a topping or an Oreo cookie crust instead of pie dough. Watch the video below for intricate details on how to make this simple-to-prepare French Silk Pie.
Ingredient and Substitutions
- Pie Crust – I made a homemade pie crust with the addition of some sugar. Use my recipe, store-bought, or your favorite pie dough.
- Cream – You will need heavy whipping cream for this pie. It cannot be substituted.
- Butter – I use unsalted butter in all my cooking and baking to control the salt content instead of a butter company.
- Vanilla – Any good vanilla extract will work in this pie.
- Chocolate – I used semi-sweet chocolate bars, but chips will work also. In addition, if you like less sweet pies, you can use dark chocolate.
- Sugar – Regular granulated sugar is all you’ll need.
- Eggs – I used large chilled eggs. You can use room-temperature eggs. Please see my chef’s notes regarding raw eggs.
How to Make French Silk Pie
Add the flour, butter, salt, and sugar to a food processor and pulse on high speed while drizzling in the water until it becomes like a meal. Note: you may need a bit more water.
Transfer the dough to a clean surface dusted with flour, knead to form a ball, and roll it out with a pin until it is 1/8 thick.
Form the dough into a 9” pie pan, cutting off any excess and crimping the edges to make a ripple around the outside. Please place it in the freezer for 10 minutes to cool the fat.
Add a piece of parchment paper over the pie crust, follow up 3 cups of dried beans, and parbake for 6 minutes at 450°.
Remove from the oven and cool completely in the refrigerator.
Add the heavy cream and ½ cup of sugar to a standing mixer with the whisk attachment and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks have formed, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Set 1/3 of the whipped cream into a separate container, but chill the 1/3 and 2/3 in the refrigerator until it’s time to use it.
Add the chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 1 minute. Stir and return to the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and return to the microwave for 30 more seconds. At this point, it should be melted. Cool to room temperature.
Add the butter and sugar to a standing mixer with the paddle attachment and mix quickly until the butter becomes light and fluffy about 5 minutes.
Mix in the vanilla extract and chocolate.
Next, add 2 eggs and beat for 2 minutes before adding the other 2 eggs. Beat for a further 3-4 minutes or until smooth and fluffy.
Fold in the chilled 1/3 cup of whipped cream using a rubber spatula until mixed in.
Transfer the filling to the par-baked pie crust and smooth out using a spoon or spatula.
Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Top off with remaining chilled whipped cream and add an optional garnish of shaved chocolate.
What About Raw Eggs in the French Silk Pie?
There are raw eggs in the recipe, and while I can’t tell you it is 100% safe, we’ve never been sick. I always recommend buying organic eggs for recipes like this. In addition, several egg brands are pasteurized, like Davidson’s, which eliminates bacteria like Salmonella and other viruses in case you feel nervous about it.
Another way to keep you safer would be to add the eggs one at a time until whisked into the hot melted chocolate, bringing them up to safer temperatures before adding to the whipped cream.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this pie up to 3 days ahead of time while keeping it cool in the refrigerator before serving. I recommend not adding the whipped cream to the top until it is ready to be eaten.
How to Store: You can keep the pie covered in plastic in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This French silk pie will freeze and be covered for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for one day or until it is thawed.
chef notes + tips
- Any dried beans like lentils or kidney beans will work when parbaking.
- You will have some leftover whipped cream.
More Dessert Recipes
Video
French Silk Pie Recipe
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 stick of unsalted butter
- pinch of sea salt
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- ¼ cup of ice cold water
For the Filling:
- 3 cups of heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup of sugar + 2/3 more
- 1 cup of unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
- 4 large eggs
Instructions
For the Pie Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 450°. If using convection, preheat it to 425°.
- Add the flour, butter, salt, and sugar to a food processor and pulse on high speed while drizzling in the water until it becomes like a meal. Note: you may need a bit more water.
- Transfer the dough to a clean surface dusted with flour, knead to form a ball, and then roll it out with a pin until it is 1/8 thick.
- Form the dough into a 9” pie pan, cutting off any excess and crimping the edges to make a ripple around the outside.
- Add a piece of parchment paper over the pie crust, pour some dried beans over the parchment paper, and par-bake for 6 to 8 minutes. The pie crust will not change much color but will become firm once cooled after baking.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely to room temperature.
For the Filling:
- Add the heavy cream and ½ cup of sugar to a standing mixer with the whisk attachment and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks have formed, which takes about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Set 1/3 of the whipped cream into a separate container, but chill both the 1/3 and 2/3 in the refrigerator until it’s time to use it.
- Add the chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 1 minute. Stir and return to the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and return to the microwave for 30 more seconds. At this point, it should be melted. Cool slightly to room temperature, which only takes 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the butter and sugar to a standing mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on high speed until the butter becomes light and fluffy, which takes about 5 minutes.
- Mix in the vanilla extract and then the melted chocolate.
- Next, add 2 eggs and beat for 2 minutes before adding in the other 2 eggs. Beat for a further 3-4 minutes or until smooth and fluffy.
- Fold in the chilled 1/3 cup of whipped cream using a rubber spatula until it has been mixed in.
- Transfer the filling to the par-baked pie crust and smooth out using a spoon or spatula.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until the pie has settled and is firm.
- Top off with the remaining chilled whipped cream and add an optional garnish of shaved chocolate.
Made two for Easter get together with family and friends. Was fabulous! Easy to make crust, super smooth filling and whip cream left over to put in my coffee in the morning. Win win. Thanks for the recipe
Appreciate you trying it!
I made this fabulous pie for Thanksgiving. I have made french silk pies before but none this wonderful !!!! EVERYONE loved it. It will be the recipe I go to from now on !
Excellent!
Made this for my daughter’s birthday this past weekend and everyone loved it! It looked beautiful and tasted heavenly! Thank you so much for your recipe and tutorial video!! 😀
My pleasure!
I made this for the holiday and my family couldn’t believe I actually made this! It was a huge hit and the whole process was easier then I thought. I will never buy a French silk pie again!