The Recipe Rebel

The Recipe Rebel / Desserts

French Silk Pie (easy method)

written by Ashley Fehr

Pin
4.93 from 42 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 12 servings

Jump to Recipe

Last updated on February 7, 2024

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

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.

slice of french silk pie on white plate with raspberries.

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!

overhead view of a full french silk pie with chocolate curls on top with raspberries and mint leaves beside.

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!
Want to save this recipe?
Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox. You’ll also get new recipes and a free monthly menu plan!

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

Add your review

French Silk Pie Ingredients

ingredients needed for french silk pie.
  • 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.
make the crust
mix together sugar, eggs, cocoa and cream
  • Over medium heat, whisk the mixture until thickened.
  • Strain the mixture through a sieve over a mixing bowl.
stir the mixture until thickened
strain it
  • Stir in the vanilla, butter, and chocolate. Cool until it reaches room temperature and stir occasionally.
  • Whip the cream until fluffy.
mix in the butter and chocolate
whip the cream
  • 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.
add the cream to the chocolate
spread the filling in the pie crust

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.
French silk pie in pit plate with pieces removed.

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:

ashley avatar

Pin this recipe to save for later

Pin this recipe to your favorite board

French Silk Pie (the easy way!)

written by Ashley Fehr

4.93 from 42 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!
square image of slice of french silk pie on a white plate.
Review
Print
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Cuisine American
Course Dessert
Servings 12 servings
Calories 525.03cal

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
US Customary – Metric

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

This pie is super rich and chocolatey, but still pretty light! If you would like to make it less rich, you have a few options:
  • 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.
I don’t recommend doing all of these things as they will affect the outcome of the pie. The more you change, the less predictable the outcome will be.

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