The Best French Silk Pie

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The BEST French Silk Pie — This French silk pie is made with an Oreo cookie crust. The filling is a cross between chocolate mousse and chocolate cheesecake, and it’s so addicting!

French Silk Pie recipe

Homemade French Silk Pie Recipe

I’ve wanted to make a French Silk Pie for ages but kept putting it off. I’m glad I finally made it because it turned out to be one of the best pies I’ve ever eaten.

I’m not really even a pie girl. In 5 years of blogging mostly about desserts, I have just a few pie recipes. But I have fond memories of being in high school and college and going to Baker’s Square for study sessions.

I’d plop down in a booth for hours with a pot of coffee, and midway through my study sessions the French silk pie in the bakery cases kept looking better and better. But I’ll never be satisfied with theirs after making this. If your only experience is with store-bought French silk pie, the difference between homemade and store-bought is beyond words. It’s one of those items that the difference is so huge you’ll hardly think it’s the same thing.

slice of French Silk Pie on white plate

Rather than a traditional pie crust, I made an Oreo cookie crust. It adds to the overall chocolate intensity of the pie. The crunchy firmness of the crust is a perfect counterbalance to the silky, creamy, luscious filling.

The filling takes about 20 minutes to make because you add 4 eggs, one at a time, spaced 5 minutes apart. While the mixture was whipping, I organized some messy kitchen drawers that I otherwise would have kept putting off. I knew there was a reason I made this chocolate silk pie.

The filling is some of the best stuff I’ve ever tasted in my life. Not exaggerating. It’s not as light and airy as chocolate mousse but nowhere near as dense or heavy as chocolate cheesecake. It’s why the pie is called French silk. It’s silky smooth, rich, decadent, and truly incredible. Definitely worth 20 minutes of whipping.

The contrast of the silky filling, the crunchy cookie crust, fluffy and creamy whipped cream, and firm chopped chocolate create a wonderful array of textures and complementary flavors in each bite.

I shared this French silk chocolate pie with family, friends, and neighbors, and everyone who tried it said it was the best chocolate pie or French silk pie they’ve ever had. Family members told me that it’s in the top 5 desserts I’ve ever made, and I have 500+ recipes on my blog and 200 spanning two cookbooks.

If I could only choose one pie for the rest of my life, this is the one. I loved it that much.

chocolate silk pie with Oreo crust

French Silk Pie Ingredients

For this French silk chocolate pie, you’ll need: 

  • Oreo cookies
  • Butter
  • Dark chocolate
  • Ultrafine sugar
  • Vanilla extract
  • Instant espresso granules (NOT ground coffee) 
  • Salt
  • Eggs
  • Whipped topping

slice of French Silk Pie

How to Make French Silk Pie

Before you can start on the filling for this chocolate silk pie, you’ll need to make the Oreo cookie crust. To do so, pulse the Oreos in a food processor until they’re the texture of coarse sand. Then pour in the melted butter and continue pulsing until the mixture starts sticking together. Press the mixture into a pie plate and bake to set. 

Next, you’ll need to make the filling. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (it’ll take about 5 minutes). Add the vanilla, espresso granules, salt, and melted chocolate and continue mixing to combine. Then, add in the eggs one at a time and beat for roughly 5 minutes after each addition. It’s crucial that you take the time to whip the pie filling, otherwise it won’t become silky and smooth. 

Turn the mixture into the cooled Oreo cookie crust and refrigerate, covered, for 4 hours to set. Once the pie is fully set, top with whipped topping and garnish with chocolate shavings. Then find some neighbors to share this pie with, otherwise you’ll eat it all at once! 

forkful of French Silk Pie

Can I Use Powdered Sugar Instead of Ultrafine? 

No, powdered sugar (aka confectioner’s sugar) isn’t the right texture and will make your pie far too sweet. 

What Type of Chocolate Should I Use? 

You want to use a chocolate bar and not chocolate chips since they’re more resistant to melting. Use a bar that contains at least 72% cacao. If you use anything sweeter in this recipe, your French silk pie will wind up being way too sweet. 

french silk chocolate pie

Tips for Making French Silk Pie

For the filling and for the chopped chocolate on top, I used Trader Joe’s 72% Pound Plus bar. Use a high quality dark chocolate to ensure the pie has enough depth of rich, chocolate flavor. A pinch of instant espresso granules brings out the chocolate intensity and doesn’t make the pie taste like coffee.

I highly recommend using ultrafine sugar, also called baker’s sugar and it’s sold near other sugars. It’s the sugar used on top of Creme Brulee. Using ultrafine sugar ensures it’ll fully integrate into the butter and chocolate. There’s a chance that granulated sugar won’t incorporate fully and the filling could be gritty.

The pie filling isn’t baked and the eggs are raw, which is what classic French silk pie is. If this isn’t a good choice for you or someone who may eat the pie, use pasteurized eggs, which are safe to eat raw. As a lifetime orange Julius drinker and cookie dough eater, I don’t have any issues.

And if a little bit of crust crumbles when you’re slicing the pie, just sprinkle it on top like you meant to do it. Being the world’s worst pancake-flipper and pie-slicer, this may have come in handy for me.

The Best French Silk Pie - Homemade French Silk is the most amazing thing ever! You HAVE to make this! Beyond words how crazy good it is!!

The BEST French Silk Pie — This French silk pie is made with an Oreo cookie crust. The filling is a cross between chocolate mousse and chocolate cheesecake, and it's so addicting!

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4.50 from 26 votes

The Best French Silk Pie

By Averie Sunshine
This French silk pie is made with an Oreo cookie crust. The filling is a cross between chocolate mousse and chocolate cheesecake, and it's so addicting!
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Chill Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 50 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
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Ingredients  

Crust

  • 20 Oreo cookies, finely crushed (I use chocolate-filled Oreos rather than white-filled, and regular rather than Double-Stuffed)
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling

  • 6 ounces dark chocolate, at least 72%, melted (unsweetened baker’s chocolate may be substituted)
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 ½ cups ultrafine sugar, also called ultrafine or baker’s sugar (using granulated sugar could result in graininess; use at your discretion)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon instant espresso granules, optional but recommended
  • pinch salt, optional and to taste
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature

Topping

  • 8 ounces whipped topping, thawed and stirred well, lite okay or 2 cups freshly whipped cream
  • 3 to 4 ounces dark chocolate, 72% or higher roughly chopped, for sprinkling

Instructions 

  • Make the Crust
  • Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 9-inch pie dish wish cooking spray; set aside.
  • Add Oreos to the canister of a food processor and process until finely ground, 1 to 2 minutes on high power; set aside.
  • In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
  • Add melted butter to canister of food processor and process until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
  • Turn crumbs out into prepared pie dish and using your fingers, hard-pack the mixture to create a crust, making sure to cover sides of pie dish.
  • Bake for 10 minutes, or until just set. Place on a wire rack to cool.
  • Make the Filling
  • In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate, about 1 to 2 minutes on high power. Stop after 1 minute to check and stir. Heat in 15 second increments until chocolate can be stirred smooth; set aside to cool.
  • To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, sugar, and beat on high power until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping as necessary to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mixture should be very pale, almost white; the lighter and fluffier the better to ensure sugar is well on it’s way to being dissolved and incorporated fully.
  • Add the vanilla, espresso granules, optional salt, cooled chocolate, and beat on high power until incorporated and mixture is fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, remove paddle attachment, switch to whisk attachment, add 1 egg, and beat for 5 minutes on high power.
  • Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the second egg, beat for 5 minutes on high power. Repeat process with remaining eggs. Eggs are added 1 at a time, spaced 5 minutes apart, for a total of 20 minutes active whipping time.
  • After 20 minutes, make sure your mixture is smooth, silky, fluffy, with zero traces of graininess. Continue beating until you’re satisfied with the smoothness because this is what your pie will taste like.
  • Turn mixture out into crust, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula. Cover with plasticwrap and place in fridge for at least 4 hours (overnight is better) for pie to set up fully.
  • Add the ToppingAdd the whipped topping/cream, smoothing it lightly with a spatula. I left a bare margin of 1-inch for visual appeal so you can see the chocolate; cover surface fully if preferred.
  • Sprinkle evenly with chopped chocolate before slicing and serving.

Notes

Pie will keep covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 523kcal, Carbohydrates: 74g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 121mg, Sodium: 183mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 61g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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Comments

  1. I’m drooling over here! This pie looks so darn good and you can’t beat an Oreo cookie crust. I’d probably eat the entire pie. ;)

  2. I have never eaten french silk pie, but since I love chocolate mousse, I thought this looked amazing enough to make. I made it early this afternoon and we just had some for dessert. Wow. It came out beautiful. I agree that it is the best pie I have made. Thank you for sharing!

    1. Thanks for trying the recipe the same weekend I posted it and so glad it came out beautifully AND that it’s the best pie you’ve ever made! Me too :)

  3. Averie,
    If this is one of the best pies you’ve ever eaten, I’m definitely trying this. ok, for the crust, you don’t discard the Oreo filling but just process everything together? do you think that helps the crust to stay together, along with the butter? I’ve never kept the Oreo filling in there. . I’ve always removed the filling and just used to cookies. so just curious. thank you!

    1. Why would you remove the filling? Girl that’s the best part..that white sweet stuff. Keep it! Remove that? Are you kidding? :) It probably does help the crust stay together but over and beyond, it makes it taste better :)

  4. Hi averie! That pie looks gorgeous and I really want to try it. I just wanted to ask you if it can be made with a hand mixer though, I don’t have a stand mixer :(

    1. I think you can but obviously you read the part about 20 mins, minimum, mixing it up. So with a hand mixer, make sure you (and your mixer) can deal with 20-30 minutes of just standing there mixing on high. With a hand mixer too I think it will take longer than the 20-25ish that I beat mine with my stand mixer. Can it be done? Probably. Just make sure you both are up for the job and neither of you overheat :)

      1. i just made it with a hand mxer and it was extremely fluffy and non grainy after the 3rd egg. even with the hand mixer it took 20 mins. cant wait to try this for thanksgiving! thanks!

      2. Glad it came out great for you even with a hand mixer! Enjoy! LMK what everyone thinks!

  5. Alaska Silk Pie Company formerly of Alaska is now located in Seattle Washington. They will ship a pie to you (check online) and can be found at specialty stores in Washington and Oregon. They are the best silk pies I have ever tasted. Currently they are having an anniversary sale, give them a try, you will not regret it and maybe Averie can figure out how to make a few.

  6. This looks incredible. I have wanted to make French silk pie for ages and remember loving them as a kid. I’ve pinned it to try one day soon! Thanks!

  7. Yuuum, my favorite pie! It looks awesome. I’m definitely going to be craving it after seeing this!

    1. Thanks for the pin and it’s your fave pie? Well seriously, after making this, it’s my fave pie, too! Not even kidding! :)

  8. That’s the best looking French Silk Pie I’ve ever seen, beautiful light in the photos! I’m a pie girl all the way around, and anything chocolate is irresistible!

  9. French silk pie is one of my favorites! So delicious and easy to make. This definitely looks like the best, Averie!

  10. I can imagine how creamy and silky this is!! I love pie crust but would never say not to a chocolate crust!

  11. oh god, I need to make this pie just to clean the drawers!! You have no idea! And, I’ve never made Freanch Silk Pie before either and my husband LOVES it, I should be a better wife and make this for him! Thanks for sharing.

    1. Make this for him because it will score you major brownie points and it’s not hard – it just tastes like it’s super complicated but it’s not at all. And then you can score yourself major points :)