The Recipe Rebel

The Recipe Rebel / Desserts

French Silk Pie

written by Ashley Fehr

Pin
4.91 from 30 votes
Prep Time 20 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Servings 12 servings

Jump to Recipe

Published on December 3, 2019 / Last updated on May 21, 2020

This easy French Silk Pie is made with a fluffy, rich chocolate filling and no bake Oreo crust, topped with sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Easier than most, and no raw eggs!

french silk pie whole in blue pie plate with whipped cream swirls

I feel like 2019 has been the year of the pie for The Recipe Rebel, and I’m not done yet.

I wanted to come up with a few new pie recipes that are perfect for Christmas dinner, but also great any time of the year.

If you’ve been around here long, you may know my allegiance lies with anything but traditional fruit pies.

Peanut Butter Pie? Yes, please.

Banana Cream Pie? Save me a slice or three.

Apple Crumble Pie? The streusel makes this one.

And now this easy French Silk Pie is joining the family.

It is so much easier than most (and no raw eggs required!), and it’s just the right combination of ultra rich and light and fluffy.

french silk pie slice on white plate with chocolate drizzle and whipped cream on top

Perfect for the chocolate lovers in your life 😉

What’s the difference between French Silk Pie and Chocolate Pie?

I did quite a bit of research around what makes a chocolate pie a French Silk Pie, and many recipes were very similar.

Butter and sugar were creamed together, then melted chocolate was added along with a couple other ingredients.

Lastly, plain old raw eggs were beaten into the filling, and then you pour it in the crust.

french silk chocolate pie close up with whipped cream and chocolate shavings

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.

So while I’m calling this French Silk Pie, it is more accurately a mash up of the two, because who really wants to be eating raw eggs anyway?

What’s in a French Silk Pie?

Again, traditionally, a whole bunch of delicious things plus raw eggs. In this French Silk Pie, the ingredients are as follows:

  1. The crust, made of chocolate baking crumbs and melted butter
  2. Sugar
  3. Cocoa
  4. Eggs
  5. Chocolate – dark or milk, you decide!
  6. Cream
  7. Butter
  8. Vanilla

How to make French Silk Pie:

  1. Stir together the no bake Oreo crust — I polled readers, and you definitely wanted an Oreo crust instead of regular pastry! For that reason, that’s the route I went with this chocolate pie. It also makes this pie totally no bake.
  2. Whisk together the sugar, cocoa, eggs and cream until completely smooth. Heat over medium heat until thickened noticeably.
  3. Remove from the heat and stir in chocolate, butter and vanilla.
  4. Cool to room temperature — you can do this on the counter or in the fridge for an hour or so, stirring occasionally. Then whip until it lightens in color!
  5. Fold in some whipped (unsweetened) cream, spread it into the Oreo crust.
  6. Let it chill for several hours, or overnight is even better. It will firm up and slice easily!
french silk pie close up with whipped cream on white background

Variations on this chocolate pie:

There are so many ways to make this French Silk Pie even more special! Check out a few of my favorites:

  • This French Silk 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.
  • For a less sweet pie, opt for solid dark chocolate.
  • Add in a teaspoon of mint extract in place of the vanilla for a minty twist.
  • Add in a tablespoon or two of peanut butter along with the butter for a chocolate peanut butter twist.
  • Spread a layer of toasted, chopped pecans and thick caramel in the bottom of the crust for a Turtle French Silk Pie!
  • Top with fresh raspberries, strawberries or mixed berries for a bit of freshness that will complement the rich chocolate perfectly

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!

More pie recipes you’ll love:

ashley avatar

Pin this recipe to save for later

Pin this recipe to your favorite board

French Silk Pie

written by Ashley Fehr

4.91 from 30 votes
This easy French Silk Pie is made with a fluffy, rich chocolate filling and easy homemade pie crust, topped with sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Easier than most, and no raw eggs!
french silk pie close
Save Review
Print
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Cuisine American
Course Dessert
Servings 12 servings
Calories 525.03cal

Ingredients

Crust

  • 2 1/2 cups chocolate baking crumbs (340g)
  • 1/2 cup melted butter

Filling

  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (300g)
  • 4 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa
  • 2 cups heavy cream 30-35% fat, divided
  • 200 grams chopped chocolate 2 100g bars — I use a combo of dark and milk chocolate — about 1 ¼ cup
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 525.03cal | Carbohydrates: 49.37g | Protein: 4.83g | Fat: 36.3g | Saturated Fat: 20.85g | Cholesterol: 139.41mg | Sodium: 169.55mg | Potassium: 111.02mg | Fiber: 1.19g | Sugar: 38.33g | Vitamin A: 1016.85IU | Vitamin C: 0.24mg | Calcium: 42.47mg | Iron: 0.83mg
Keywords chocolate pie, french silk pie

Want to save this recipe?

Create an account easily save your favorite content, so you never forget a recipe again.

Register Now

Tried this recipe?

Tag @thereciperebel or hashtag #thereciperebel —
I love to see what you’re making!

Tag @thereciperebel
Pin

Meet Ashley

My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!

Read More

You May Also Like

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Samantha says

    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!

    Reply

      • Jane says

        When you list chocolate bar are you talking about a baking bar or a candy bar? When baking and cooking with chocolate, the two react very differently.

      • The Recipe Rebel says

        Hi Jane, if you do a quick Google search “chocolate bar” you’ll see some examples. I’m not talking about Hershey’s. You want to look for a high quality chocolate bar like Lindt or Ghirardelli that bakes up perfectly in this pie. Hope this helps!

  2. LadyAleta says

    Just a little hint about frozen cream pies or ice cream pies: If you slide it into a 2 gallon ziplock and freeze it, it will freeze but not “rock” hard. It will be cuttable yet still firm/frozen. Also if you put your “1/2 gallon” (or less) ice cream containers in a gallon ziplock, it will be scoopable without breaking your scoop. Can do it with any size container of ice cream type dessert but not advisable with individual frozen treats.

    Reply

  3. E. says

    I made this pie with a homemade oil and milk crust, dark chocolate only (60 %) and just 70 gr of sugar, and it was perfectly sweet and deeply chocolatey. Next time 60 gr might even be enough, because there will definitely be a next time, it was absolutely delicious and curbed everyone’s chocolate craving!
    I can’t imagine how insanely sweet it must be with the full amount of sugar on top of the milk chocolate, but I’m glad my years of baking experience let me see that right away. I’m also super glad I finally gave this recipe a go after I had it saved for a long time and hesitated to try it because of the changes I knew I had to make. It was well worth it!

    Reply

  4. Meg says

    Made this for Christmas and it was an absolute hit!! Almost TOO rich and chocolatey (if there is such a thing) and it was mile-high! Thank you so much for posting this recipe!

    Reply

  6. Tony says

    It took over 10 mins to quazi thicken with constant whisking over med. heat . I added the remaining ingrediants and it was still slurpy. I poured it all back into pot over med heat and whicked for another 15 mins. and placed it in the fridge. This did the trick and the rest turned out great. Had friends over who at times can be critical bunch . They had nothing but praise for it and they wanted the recipie. Thanks again for sharing . BTW one package of regular Oreo’s is about 2 3/4 cups.

    Reply

  7. Sandee says

    This pie was absolutely delicious! One tip—be careful when slowly heating the egg-cream mixture, I almost burned it. I used semi sweet chocolate and wow was the pie rich! My family loved it! I’ll make it again and try substituting milk chocolate for one of the bars. I also took the lazy way and used pre-made deep dish pie crust. I’m so excited to add this recipe to my permanent collection. Thanks!

    Reply

  11. Kaitlyn says

    Very good, very rich. Easily GF with Glutino cookies. You can totally cut the sugar & get the same effect. Also, the recipe does not include the whipped topping in the amount of cream needed. I would make sure to include another cup-ish of cream & powdered sugar for whipped topping.

    Reply

  12. Miriam says

    Ashley, This is the greatest French silk Recipe!! I’ve made it twice with great success. Thank you! Based on limited ingredients, I reduced sugar to 1 cup, and 1.5 cups heavy cream, divided. Turned out great!

    Reply

  13. Annie says

    I’ve made this pie many times. I usually add about 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and peanut butter cups on top. It’s amazing! Silky, creamy and decadent. It’s my boyfriends favorite thing I make. It’s well worth the wait for chilling time! (:

    Reply

    • Ashley Fehr says

      Hi Julia! This recipe relies heavily on melted chocolate. I would recommend looking at another chocolate pie recipe, maybe one that is based of a homemade pudding filling with cocoa as the base. That would work best!

      Reply

  15. Diane Moser says

    I made this pie today, because it’s pi day… but I didn’t have any heavy cream (and I refuse to go to the store if I can sub other things in a recipe). I substituted whole milk for the first cup of cream and full-fat Greek yogurt for the second cup. It is so delicious and has fewer calories! Thickened up beautifully. Thanks so much for sharing this.

    Reply

Leave A Reply

Have you tried this recipe? Leave a rating