French Silk Pie is chocolatey, rich, and as the name suggests – silky! Fluffy chocolate filling is piled high atop a no-bake chocolate pie crust! Sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings are the crowning glory on this no bake pie.
If you’re loving this recipe, be sure to also whip up a Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, Chocolate Cream Pie or my favorite Homemade Dark Chocolate Pudding Pie.
Table of Contents
Between the chocolate crust, rich chocolate filling and gorgeous garnishes, there’s a whole lot to love in every bite of this no bake pie recipe.
French Silk Pie is one of my favorite desserts to enjoy a big slice of. I’m a huge chocolate lover! If you are too, then you’ll also fall in love with this classic chocolate pie.
But MY French Silk Pie is the recipe you need, because there are no raw eggs and the method is so much simpler than many other recipes.
Plus it yields a smooth and silky, easily sliceable consistency every time.
See how I do it down below!
Why we love it:
- So much chocolate – The thick, silky chocolatey filling is served on top of a chocolate crust. It’s a chocolate lovers dream come true!
- Classic – You’ll find no unnecessary frills in this classic french silk pie. It’s got all of the timeless elements you know and love!
- Simplified – Don’t let the eggs scare you off. I’ve simplified this process (check out my step-by-step photos) to make sure your French Silk Pie is perfect every time — no raw eggs, no tempering required!
- No bake – Isn’t it always nice to not have to preheat your oven? I love this no bake pie recipe!
Reader Rating
“This recipe was my first, and after successfully making it, only chocolate pie recipe that I’ve ever made and I freaking love it! The consistency of this pie is closer to mousse rather than a silk, which is one of the reasons why I love it so much.
I’ve committed to only making this pie for Easter because if I don’t, I’ll easily make it every week!
Thank you for this delicious recipe!” Samantha
French Silk Pie Ingredients
- Sugar – Plain white granulated sugar creates just the right amount of sweetness to balance the bitter dark chocolate.
- Dark Chocolate – It’s imperative to use DARK chocolate only. If you use milk or even semi-sweet chocolate, your end results may be way too sweet. French silk pie is supposed to have that signature rich chocolate flavor that comes from using dark chocolate.
- Vanilla Extract – This helps to create more depth to the sweet flavor.
- Chocolate Baking Crumbs – You should be able to find these in the baking aisle of your local grocery store. If you can’t find any, toss some Oreo cookies (without the cream) into a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs form.
- Butter – Unsalted butter is preferred to avoid a salty flavor from forming. Note that the butter should be melted for the crust.
- Cocoa – This enhances the chocolatey flavor in the very best way.
- Eggs – You’ll need 4 eggs for this french silk pie recipe. The eggs help form the custard which is the base for our pie.
- Heavy cream: Some we use to create our custard, and some we whip and fold into our custard to lighten it. Be sure to grab extra if you are making Whipped Cream for the topping!
How to make French Silk Pie
Here’s a quick look at how to make easy french silk pie! Scroll to the bottom of this page for more detailed ingredient measurements and instructions.
- Stir together the crumbs and butter, then press the mixture into a pie dish.
- Whisk together the eggs, sugar, cocoa and 1 cup of cream in a saucepan until smooth.
- Over medium heat, whisk the mixture until thickened.
- Strain the mixture through a sieve over a mixing bowl.
- Stir in the vanilla, butter, and chocolate. Cool until it reaches room temperature and stir occasionally.
- Whip the cream until fluffy.
- Whip the chocolate mixture, then fold the whipped cream into it.
- Spread the filling into the pie dish, then chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours.
Variations and Substitutions
There are so many ways to make this french silk pie recipe even more special! Check out a few of my favorites:
- Make it less chocolatey – This no-bake pie is incredibly rich and chocolatey, but also light and fluffy. If you prefer, you can opt for a milder chocolate flavor by omitting the cocoa powder.
- Make it minty – Add in a teaspoon of mint extract in place of the vanilla for a minty twist.
- Add peanut butter – Add in a tablespoon or two of peanut butter along with the butter for a chocolate peanut butter twist.
- Make it turtle – Spread a layer of toasted, chopped pecans and thick caramel in the bottom of the crust for a turtle french silk pie!
- Add some berries – Top with fresh raspberries, strawberries or mixed berries for a bit of freshness that will complement the rich chocolate perfectly.
How to store French Silk Pie
You can keep this chocolate pie stored in your fridge, in an airtight container, for up to 4 days.
Can I freeze French Silk Pie?
Yes! And this is one of the best things about this chocolate pie recipe, as it’s amazing frozen and thaws perfectly if you prefer to serve it chilled. My husband even prefers this french silk pie frozen!
What is the difference between chocolate pie and french silk pie?
With most chocolate pie recipes, it’s a simple cooked chocolate pudding poured into a pie crust and chilled. Chocolate pie is less, well, silky than french silk pie, and not as light in texture. French silk pie is a little more mousse-light in texture.
You Might Also Like…
Calling all chocolate fanatics! Get your fix with more of my favorite chocolatey recipes:
- Fudgiest and Best Homemade Brownies!
- No Churn Chocolate Ice Cream (so simple)
- Chocolate Trifle — perfect for a potluck!
- The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies (Mom’s, of course)
French Silk Pie (the easy way!)
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
Crust
- 2½ cups chocolate baking crumbs (340g)
- ½ cup melted butter
Filling
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300g)
- 4 large eggs (room temperature)
- 2 tablespoons cocoa
- 2 cups heavy cream (30-35% fat, divided)
- 200 grams chopped dark chocolate (I use 2 100 grams dark chocolate bars — about 1 ¼ cup)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- additional sweetened whipped cream for serving as desired
Instructions
- To make the crust, stir together chocolate crumbs and butter. Press into a 9" pie plate and up the sides. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, whisk together sugar, eggs, cocoa and 1 cup cream until smooth.
- Place saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened (you will know when it's thick!).
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl and stir in chocolate, butter and vanilla until smooth.
- Set aside or refrigerate until cooled to room temperature — 1-2 hours on the counter or 30-40 minutes in the refrigerator — stirring occasionally.
- Whip chocolate mixture on high speed until slightly lightened in color — about 5 minutes.
- Whip remaining 1 cup cream until stiff peaks form, and gently fold into chocolate mixture in two batches.
- Spread into prepared pie crust and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight, until set. Garnish with additional sweetened whipped cream before serving if desired.
Notes
- Add an extra ½ cup cream when whipping (for a total of 1.5 cups)
- Reduce the added chocolate to 100-150 grams
- Reduce the granulated sugar to 1 ¼ cup.
Nutrition Information
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Becky says
Do you have a recommendation for the dark chocolate bars? I’d like to make this for Easter celebration.
Ashley Fehr says
I just use generic solid chocolate bars from the grocery store, nothing fancy!
Kelsey says
This recipe is delicious! Very decadent and rich. I did bake my cookie crust for a few minutes to get it to set better (I was using gf ingredients). All in all this recipe took me almost 2 hours between prepping, “cooking” and waiting for the ingredients to chill. The directions are a bit misleading on the time needed. Also didn’t realize the heavy cream measurements didn’t include the whipped topping. At the end I decided it really doesn’t even need the whipped topping. Light and delicious without! Thanks for the recipe!
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you for sharing Kelsey! I’ve added the chilling time to better reflect the total time.
Tiffany Minter says
How is it with no raw eggs but your still adding eggs? Just bc they’re room temperature means they’re not raw??
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Tiffany! It’s pretty obvious you hardly glanced at the recipe. Maybe you want to do that before commenting?
Annie says
Lmaoo. Right! The eggs are cooked so it is not raw.
Thank you for this recipe. I make this, and ONLY this one every year!!!
Ashley Fehr says
Yay! I’m glad you love it!
Natalie says
I may need this earlier than 6 hours if I put it in the freezer for 2 would it set in time for dinner? Loved the recipe btw so quick and easy
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Natalie! I don’t really recommend freezing unless you’re going to eat it partially frozen as the filling doesn’t set quite the same way in the freezer.
Roxie Toews says
This pie is so amazing! Made it for my husband and family for valentines. So smooth and light. Will definitely make again!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Roxie!
Sarah says
I made this! It was really yummy, I did 100g milk and 100g dark chocolate.
Everyone at my Canadian thanksgiving loved it. Doesn’t really need a whip topping if anyone’s wondering, the chocolate base and filling is super decadent. Make it!!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Sarah!
Charles Braeutigam says
This recipe was easy as well as delicious, I made 12 mini pies and one normal one. It is now one of my favs thank you!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks for sharing Charles!
Bethany says
Why do you have to strain the chocolate mixture?
Jayne Russell says
What is 100-150 grams of chocolate in normal measurements? And why do you have to strain?
Thank you
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Jayne! All “normal” measurements are included in the recipe, alongside grams which is the ideal way to measure for baking. You strain so that the filling is smooth after cooking the egg.
Amanda Whitworth says
Hi! I could not find baking crumbs and so I am using Oreos. Is there a specific reason the Oreo cream must be removed? When I make an Oreo crust for cheesecake I leave the cream in. But this is my first French Silk pie so I am definitely uninformed. Thanks!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Amanda, we’ve tested this with the cookies being a fine crumb texture. When the cream is added it can still be a little lumpy and the consistency can be off. If it works for you, by all means use it! Let us know how it goes!
Steph says
Mine wouldn’t strain, what did I do wrong?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Steph, it sounds like it might of been too thick if you couldn’t get it to strain.
Sharon says
Could you use a regular pie crust instead of a chocolate crumb pie crust.
Sharon says
Should you use a deep dish pie plate.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Sharon! You probably could, it just needs to be cooked first. Also a deep dish could work as well. Enjoy!
Cindy says
I’m going to try this recipe for our New Year’s meal, with 67% Dark Chocolate in a pastry crust. I also plan to cut the sugar to 100g, based on the success of another reviewer who used 60g. My question is, do I still need to add the cocoa? What does that do? It seems like it will have a lot of chocolatey taste with the dark chocolate already.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Cindy! I’ve only tested the recipe as written, so I can say for sure what the result would be if you leave an ingredient out, or change anything. If you decide to experiment, I’d love to know how it goes!
JoKasta says
I feel like your directions are missing some steps. Do you melt the chocolate and butter together with the vanilla? As it’s written you mix the cooked cream, eggs, cocoa with cold butter & chocolate.
Danielle says
I was wondering the same! It’s not very clear, and I’d love to try this.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Danielle! The steps are correct. You are adding the chocolate, butter, and vanilla after you strain the hot cocoa mixture. If you watch the video, you’ll see these at the 1 minute 15 second mark, so you can see what it looks like. Hope this helps!
Chel says
The hot mixture will melt the chocolate and room temp butter.
The Recipe Rebel says
Yes exactly Chel!
Danielle says
Thank you so much! I just wanted to make sure I was doing it correctly! I ended up watching the video AFTER I commented of course! Haha thank you again! Trying it as I type, will update!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Jokasta! The steps are correct. You are adding the chocolate, butter, and vanilla after you strain the hot cocoa mixture. If you watch the video, you’ll see these at the 1 minute 15 second mark, so you can see what it looks like. Hope this helps!
Haley says
Will half and half work if you do not have heavy cream? Guessing the stiff peaks won’t form ?
The Recipe Rebel says
Right, it needs to be heavy cream!