The BEST French Silk Pie 🍫🤎 has a rich Oreo cookie crust and an ultra creamy chocolate filling that’s somewhere between chocolate mousse and chocolate cheesecake. It’s smooth, decadent, and packed with deep chocolate flavor. This is the kind of dessert that feels special enough for holidays but easy enough to make anytime a serious chocolate craving hits!
Easy 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.
- 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.
Ingredients in French Silk Pie
- Oreo cookies and butter: These make the easy Oreo cookie crust, which pairs perfectly with the rich chocolate filling.
- Dark chocolate: Use a high-quality dark chocolate bar, not chocolate chips, since chips do not melt as smoothly. I recommend at least 72% cacao so the pie has deep chocolate flavor without becoming too sweet.
- Ultrafine sugar: Also called baker’s sugar, ultrafine sugar blends smoothly into the butter and chocolate. Do not use powdered sugar because it is too sweet and the wrong texture. Granulated sugar may leave the filling gritty.
- Vanilla extract, instant espresso granules, and salt: These enhance the chocolate flavor. Use instant espresso granules, not ground coffee; the espresso makes the chocolate taste richer without making the pie taste like coffee.
- Eggs: Eggs are essential for creating the silky, mousse-like texture of the filling.
- Whipped topping: Used to finish the pie and balance the rich chocolate filling.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make French Silk Pie
- Make the Oreo cookie crust first by pulsing the cookies into crumbs, mixing them with melted butter, and pressing the mixture into a pie plate before baking it to set.
- Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then mix in the vanilla, espresso granules, salt, and melted chocolate.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Don’t rush this part because it’s what makes the filling silky smooth.
- Spread the chocolate filling into the cooled Oreo crust, cover, and refrigerate until fully set.
- Top with whipped topping and chocolate shavings, then slice and share before you’re tempted to eat the whole pie yourself.
The Best French Silk Pie
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
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Can I ask when you use the oven? It says you preheated it at the beginning of the recipe?
Thanks
To bake the crust, steps 1-6 of the recipe.
PS: what leftovers? Gone!
OMG! Perfection! EVERYone loved this pie, including my picky brother who had seconds, even though he was stuffed. The 9 yr old said it was the best thing he ever had. My husband loved the crust. For the whipped cream, I made it with 1 cup cream, 2 Tbsp confectioners sugar & 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract. 1 cup cream makes 2 cups whipped and the confectioners sugar keeps it from “weeping.” Amazing and thank you!
I really meant to comment on this IMMEDIATELY after I made this pie. So I kinda have a problem of liking to cook at 2-3am. I opted to make this pie in the a late night (morning?) cooking session. OH MY FREAKING AMAZINGNESS! I now will never fear divorce, knowing full well my husband can not leave me for the risk of never eating this again. Yeah. It’s that good. It will save marriages, elicit proposals from commitment fearing men, and make you that person who always gets invited to bring your French Silk pie to the party. Yep. Freaking amazing. Anyone procrastinating making this pie, just do it already. You will be upset you waited so long.
I love your comments, Jen!! Thank you! Both for making the pie, trying the recipe, and making me laugh in the process, i.e. a marriage-saving pie :) I procrastinated for years to make this pie and now I wonder what I was waiting for too! Glad you love it!
I wanted to let you know that I used this recipe today. It’s setting up now, and I am incredibly excited to try it out tomorrow after thanksgiving meal. I had no problems at all, but I wanted to thank you for mentioning the bakers sugar. I had somehow never tried it, but I think I’ll be adding it to a lot more desserts after how easy it was to use.
Great pictures, instructions, and explanations. I hope to try other recipes from your site out!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it’s just resting now and setting up. That’s the best feeling :) And yes to bakers sugar! So nice when you don’t have to worry about the grit and dissolving issues that regular sugar sometimes has. In a recipe like this, it’s priceless I think! LMK what you think of the pie!
Nah. Your pie is too flat. The pie is supposed to be fluffy and piled high. The ingredients should be cold, as cold as they can possibly be without solidifying the butter as you mix it.
You can always double the amount of whipped cream or whipped topping. For photos, I have found that if I add too much white things/whipped topping, then the image just looks like one big snowball on the screen and it’s hard to see the pie, rather than just seeing the whipped cream. In practical terms, if you like things puffy and piled high, go for it – just double that portion of the recipe.
Thank you for mentioning pasteurized eggs. I’ve found several recipes, including this one, that call for raw eggs. Normally I wouldn’t have an issue with it, but I’m going to be taking pies to a large Thanksgiving dinner and there will be lots of little kids. That tip solved my problem. Now I can make my first French Silk Pie!
YAY! Great! Please LMK how it turns out for you!!
Averie, I’m making this for Thanksgiving because I LOVE French Silk. I’ve had Baker’s Squares’ version but always preferred Marie Calendar’s version because it had the oreo cookie crust. SO GOOD! I am so excited to make this! One question for you: where do you get instant espresso granules. I have looked multiple places and cannot seem to find anything except instant coffee.
Ok if you google this ‘medaglia d’ oro espresso instant’ that’s the brand I use. Red/green/white label. I just get it at my regular grocery store (Ralph’s which is in the Kroger family). I just checked Amazon too and it’s this https://www.amazon.com/Medaglia-DOro-Instant-Espresso-Coffee/dp/B002BTI9B0 But it’s only like 3.99 at my grocery store. If you don’t want to order it and can’t find it, just use regular instant coffee.
Please LMK how this pie turns out for you!!! I hate to even say this but being that it’s for a special event, make it a day or two ahead of time so god forbid you hit a snag, at least there’s time for plan B. It will keep FINE if you make it on Tues until Thursday.
That’s sweet, but it wouldn’t have mattered. There were only 3 of us, so if it didn’t turn out it was okay. It did turn out though, thank you for the recipe! It is absolutely delicious.
I’m not sure if I commented on this recipe last month~? I made this French Silk chocolicious pie! I thought my mixer was going to revolt after beating for 20 min but it was definitely worth the time and effort. Very smooth and creamy, and with the Oreo crust, this pie goes down easy! Almost too easy. Beware: this may be habit forming!
Didn’t get any other comments from you (I would remember it on this particular recipe because it’s not ‘popular’ because it’s not a ‘quick and easy’ number…glad your mixer held up!) but it’s truly some of my favorite pie on earth and glad you loved it too! Yes it could be habit-forming :)
For the crust, do I need to take out the cream filling or just put the whole Oreos in the canister?
Whole Oreos, no need to scrape.
Lovely recipe! I have some questions to ask. Is ultrafined sugar same as icing sugar? Can I use icing sugar in place of ultrafined sugar? I do not have paddle attachment , only the whisk. Can I use the whisk attachment instead ? Thank you :)
is ultrafined sugar same as icing sugar = not sure, use google
Can I use the whisk attachment instead ? = maybe, maybe not; I haven’t tried. You can always try!
That looks SO good! Can’t wait to try this.
So pretty! I love French Silk Pie. Will definitely put this on the list. And pinning :)
Thanks for pinning, Lucy!
color me SOLD!!! loooooving this silky decadence!
Thanks for all the comments & compliment today!! :)
Ohmygosh Averie, I’m SO impressed!! This pie looks way better than the ones at Baker’s Square! We used to go there for breakfast all the time when I was growing up (ours was conveniently located right next to TJ’s!), but we never went for dinner. One time in high school, a group of us band geeks went out for pie on 3/14 (total nerds to celebrate Pi Day!) after our performance in the city’s musical, and I remember ordering a slice of chocolate pie… It must have been the French silk. I wish I could’ve tried yours!!
I was a band geek too :) and I think half the band geeks were already drinking coffee by about 9th grade and I remember going to Baker’s Square with my band friends. Oh wow, the memories :)
That chocolate custard-like filling is out of control on its own — like pudding on crack; I love it :)
Girl one of the best things that’s EVER ever ever come out of my kitchen. I loved this crack :)