French Silk Pie

It doesn’t get much better than this French Silk Pie Recipe! I first learned about French Silk Pie from Baker’s Square, which is a midwest diner chain that also specializes in pies! Growing up family used to pick up pies from our local Baker’s Square all the time and my favorite was always their French Silk Pie. I haven’t been there in over a decade, but I think I may need to make a quick stop the next time I’m back in Chicago visiting my parents.

Seriously though it doesn’t get better than this pie! The buttery Nilla wafer crust (which is our special variation from the typical butter dough crust), rich and creamy mousse-like chocolate filling, topped with fluffy pillows of sweet whipped cream- it’s the perfect pie! There is definitely a little work involved to make this pie, but it’s 100% well worth it!

Why is it Called French Silk Pie?

The name French Silk Pie comes from its silky texture! The chocolate filling is often beaten for long amounts of time, aerating the mixture, unlike its thicker pudding filling counterpart. Whipped cream is also often folded into the filling, giving it its mousse-like texture.

It’s not as thick as a pudding because of the whipped cream folded into the filling, giving it a silky mousse-like texture.

How to Make Our French Silk Pie

Pie Crust and Filling Ingredients

Crust Process

1. Completely combine crushed Nilla wafer crumbs, butter and cinnamon.
2. Pour mixture into a pie dish and press into the bottom and sides of the pan, in an even layer.
3. Place crust in the freezer for at least 1 hour (up to 2 days).

Filling Process

1. Place sugar and eggs in a heatproof bowl and beat together with an electric mixer.

2. Place bowl over a pot with water (creating a double boiler). Cook mixture, while beating with electric hand mixer, until pale yellow, thick and has doubled in volume. Remove from heat and cool.
3. Stir melted and cooled chocolate into yolk mixture and beat until fully incorporated and smooth.

4. In a stand mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add completely cooled chocolate mixture to the butter and continue to beat until fully combined, scraping down sides of the bowl.

5. In another mixing bowl beat together cream and vanilla extract.
6. Fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture until fully combined.

6. Pour filling into frozen crust.
7. Place pie in the refrigerator to set.

Topping Ingredients

Topping Process

1. In a mixing bowl combine cream, sugar and vanilla.
2. Whisk mixture together until stiff peaks form.

3. Top pie with sweetened whipped cream and a sprinkle of shaved chocolate. Serve.

Why is This Our Best French Silk Pie Recipe?

We don’t mean to toot our own horn here, but we’ve been tweaking and perfecting this recipe for a long time for you guys and think we’ve really nailed it and here’s why:

1. No Raw Eggs – unlike many other recipes you’ll find online, we ‘cook’ our eggs over a double boiler, so there’s no need to worry about raw eggs in your pie!
2. Nilla Wafer Crust – most French Silk Pies call for a pie dough crust, but we think the Nilla wafer crust (with just a hint of cinnamon) is the best option for this pie. The butter, crumbly cookie crust pairs so well with the smooth and creamy filling. This is also a no bake crust, making this a no bake pie!
3. Whipped Cream in the Filling – folding some (unsweetened) whipped cream into the chocolate pie filling really gives it an ultra smooth and light texture, while still maintaining the rich flavors.

Tips and Tricks for French Silk Pie Success

• Cooking the eggs over very low heat will ensure they don’t scramble (as well as eliminate any salmonella worries).
• If the eggs do happen to scramble a little bit, don’t worry! Just push the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to separate the scrambled bits, before stirring in the melted chocolate.
• It’s important to let the egg and sugar mixture cool before adding the melted chocolate and then again before adding it to the butter mixture, to prevent the filling from curdling.
• Don’t over mix the whipped cream into the chocolate filling or the pie won’t set properly when chilled.

Pie Crust Variations

• You can substitute the nilla wafers for graham crackers in this recipe if you like a graham cracker crust!
• You can also change out the nilla wafers for oreos. We love a good oreo cookie crust, and this recipe would taste amazing with that swap.
• To make this pie gluten free change out any of the crust options with a gluten free option! We love how easy this pie is to make gluten free.

Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions

Make Ahead

The entire pie can be made up to 1 day ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.The crust and filling can be made up to 5 days ahead of time and wrapped in plastic wrap for up to 5 days.

The day you’re ready to serve, make the whipped cream topping, top the pie, add the shavings and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Freeze Ahead

The entire pie can be frozen for up to 3 months.

To freeze: Place pie into freezer until fully frozen, then carefully and tightly wrap pie in plastic wrap and store in freezer for up to 3 months.

To serve: Unwrap pie and place in the refrigerator overnight to thaw. Slice and serve.

This French Silk Pie recipe is one of my favorite pies ever. It’s rich and creamy, but also light and fluffy. The whip cream topping, chocolate mousse like filling and buttery Nilla wafer crust, really do make pie perfection! You can’t go wrong with some bonus chocolate garnish of some chocolate curls or shavings either!

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