French Silk Pie

This creamy and indulgent French silk pie combines my best flaky pie crust, smooth-as-silk chocolate filling, and fresh whipped cream on top. This recipe uses cooked eggs, so you don’t have to worry about consuming raw eggs.

After many requests, I’m unveiling a favorite French silk pie recipe. I’ve tried a lot of French silk pies and have made several in my own kitchen, but this is definitely my best one yet and I’m thrilled for you to finally try it! Perhaps you’ll even consider adding it to your menu of Thanksgiving pies… alongside your apple pie and pumpkin pie, of course 🙂

Why This Is My Best French Silk Pie

• Uses my tried-and-true flaky pie crust
• Light as mousse, but much smoother
• Unlike other recipes, there’s no raw eggs
• Filling sets up perfectly
• Garnished with my favorite fresh whipped cream

No Raw Eggs

This characteristic is definitely worth highlighting. Most French silk pie recipes call for raw eggs, but I gently cook them first. This requires an extra step on the stove, but it cancels out any worries of serving raw eggs. Even with this step, we still have the same smooth-as-silk texture—nothing is compromised! So if you’re looking for a classic French silk pie recipe without raw eggs, this is it.

How to Fully Blind Bake Pie Crust

Like my banana cream pie and coconut cream pie, this French silk pie filling isn’t baked, so it requires a fully baked pie crust. “Blind baking” means that we bake a pie crust without a filling inside. Do you know how to blind bake pie crust? Let’s review:

1. Make pie dough ahead of time, then refrigerate or freeze until you’re ready to make the pie. Pie dough must chill for at least 2 hours before rolling out. You can use my favorite pie crust or my all-butter pie crust recipe. I prefer the shortening/butter blend in my pie crust, because the shortening promises that prized flaky texture. If needed, you can use a graham cracker crust or even an Oreo cookie crust instead. See recipe Note.
2. Roll the dough out, then fit into a 9-inch pie dish. Crimp or flute the edges. Want to know my trick for beautiful pie crust edges? Don’t trim the excess pie dough. See step 2 in the recipe below. My how to crimp and flute pie crust tutorial is helpful, too.
3. To prevent shrinking, chill the shaped pie crust for at least 30 minutes. Remember that pie dough must be cold when it hits the oven. You can do this before or after you fill with pie weights (next step).
4. Fill with pie weights. As the pie dough bakes, its fat will melt. The melting fat causes the pie crust to shrink down the sides of the pie dish. To prevent the pie dough from completely losing its shape, weigh it down with pie weights. Carefully line the pie dough with parchment paper first, then pour in pie weights or even dry beans. (Note: 2 packs of these pie weights is needed.)
5. Bake until the edges are relatively set, about 15 minutes.
6. Remove pie weights and parchment, dock the crust with a fork, and then return to the oven until the crust is golden brown (about another 15 minutes). See photo on the right below.
7. Cool completely before adding the filling.

Some recipes, like my pumpkin pie and lemon meringue pie, require a partially blind-baked pie crust—this means that the filling is baked, but the crust requires a pre-bake.

4 Parts to Chocolate Pie Filling

Let’s make the chocolate filling as the blind-baked pie crust cools. There’s a few different things going on here. You need 4 separate bowls for different components.

1. Heavy Cream: Whip heavy cream into stiff peaks.
2. Melted Chocolate: Use two 4-ounce bars of pure chocolate in this recipe. Do not use chocolate chips, which don’t melt into the proper consistency. I prefer and recommend semi-sweet chocolate, but you can use bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate for a darker flavor.
3. Eggs + Sugar: I like to whip the cream and melt the chocolate first, so both are ready as I need them. For the eggs, whisk them with the sugar and gently cook them on the stovetop. Use a double boiler or a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. While constantly whisking, cook until they reach 160°F (71°C), a temperature that kills all possible bacteria. You need an instant-read thermometer for this step. Let this cool for 10 minutes, then stir in the melted chocolate.
4. Creamed Butter: Finally, cream room-temperature butter for a couple minutes with a mixer. While this is the last part listed, it’s actually the base of the entire filling. Mix vanilla extract into the creamed butter, then add the chocolate/egg mixture to the bowl, and beat for 3 minutes. Turn off the mixer and gently fold in the unsweetened whipped cream with a spatula.

Above left: cooked eggs + sugar. Above right: combined melted chocolate and eggs.

Below left: creamed butter. Below right: creamed butter with the chocolate/eggs.

Finally, fold in the unsweetened whipped cream and spread into the cooled pie crust. Place the pie in the refrigerator and chill until the filling sets, about 4–6 hours.

This is an excellent pie to make a day ahead of time!

While I have a chocolate mousse pie recipe in my archives, I wanted to share a classic French silk pie. What’s the difference? The mousse pie sits in a delicious Oreo cookie crust and has a sky-high, super thick, airy mousse filling. This French silk pie, however, is served in a traditional pie crust and has a much richer, smoother filling. (Truthfully though… you can’t go wrong with either chocolate pie!)

Use Heavy Cream Again for Whipped Cream Topping

You need heavy cream for the filling AND the whipped cream garnish on top. Pick up a pint of heavy cream or heavy whipping cream and use 1 cup for the filling and 1 cup for the whipped cream on top. (We’re using my favorite vanilla whipped cream!) Finish it off with chocolate curls, mini chocolate chips, or even toasted coconut.

Success Tips

1. Review the recipe and notes: Since there’s a few different steps, my #1 success tip is to review the written instructions and recipe notes before you begin. Take your time with each step and you’ll be rewarded with chocolate pie perfection.
2. Maintain a smooth filling: Make sure the egg mixture cools down before stirring in the chocolate. Then, make sure the chocolate/egg mixture cools down before mixing into the creamed butter. If these ingredients are still warm, the filling could curdle.
3. No substitutions: To ensure the filling sets up properly and maintains the silky texture, I do not recommend any ingredient substitutions.

Or Try This With an Oreo Cookie Crust

Swap the pie dough for an Oreo cookie crust. No pie weights required! See recipe Note below for specific instructions.

This recipe is part of Sally’s Pie Week, an annual tradition where I share a handful of new recipes that fit into the pie/crisp/tart category. Join the community below!

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