French Silk Pie

January 23, 2022

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French Silk Pie Recipe

The 23rd of January is National Pie Day! Since I’m not really much of an experienced baker myself, I used Handle The Heat Tessa’s recipe for this delicious French Silk Pie! It’s airy, filled with chocolate, and has an Oreo crust, it’s seriously good!

Serves: 8 – 10 servings | Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook Time: 20 mins | Chilling Time: 6 hours | Total: 6 hours 50 mins

Cooking & Kitchen Supplies: 9 inch/22cm ⌀ springform cake tin | mixer | small saucepan | tin foil | 2 mixing bowls | optional: parchment paper

Ingredients

For the crust

230g Oreo (about 20 cookies)
3 tbsp unsalted butter

For the filling

265g granulated sugar
4 large eggs
225g bittersweet baking chocolate
2 tsp vanilla extract
140g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
320ml heavy cream
4 tsp powdered sugar

For the topping

240ml heavy cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
optional: chocolate shavings or cocoa powder for garnish

For this recipe, you only have to bake the crust in the oven for a little while. Only part of the filling needs to be heated up, and the rest is just served as is. So no stressing whether or not your cake will cook all the way through for this one!

How to prepare a French Silk Pie

We start off by baking the crust. Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C.
Grease your springform cake tin with some melted butter or cooking spray. I personally always line the bottom with parchment paper, just to be extra safe.
Grind the Oreo cookies into fine crumbles in a food processor or a blender.
Melt 3 tbsp of butter in a small saucepan or in a bowl in the microwave. Then combine the melted butter with the Oreo crumbles and stir until the crumbles are moistened.
Transfer the Oreo crumble mixture to your springform cake tin and press it into the bottom, and up the sides of the cake tin to create the crust. I find that using the back of a spoon works very well for doing this.
When your oven is up to temperature, bake the pie crust for 10 minutes, or until it is fragrant and set.
When the pie crust is done, take it out of the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
Now it’s time to prepare the filling. Start with melting your chocolate. I used a hot water bath to do so myself. You can place a bowl with the chocolate into or over a pan of hot water to let the residual heat melt the chocolate, without risking burning it.
You can just leave it there until the chocolate is fully melted.
In the meantime, whisk together the granulated sugar and the eggs in a small saucepan, then cook it over medium-low heat. Keep whisking the mixture until it coats the back of a metal spoon, make sure not to boil it.
When it coats the back of a spoon, remove it from the heat and add the melted chocolate and the vanilla extract to the mixture. Then stir everything until it is smooth. Let it cool down until it is still slightly warm while stirring it occasionally.
Grab a bowl and beat the butter light and fluffy for about 2 – 3 minutes using an electric mixer. Then gradually add the cooled chocolate mixture to the butter, and beat for another 5 minutes on high speed, or until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, use the electric mixer to beat the cream until it thickens. Then add the powdered sugar and beat it until it forms still peaks. Add it to the chocolate mixture and softly fold it in to create a light chocolate mousse.
Pour the mixture into your springform, on top of the crust. Then cover it with tin foil and chill it in the fridge for 6 hours to make it fully set.
I personally make the topping about 15 minutes before serving the pie so that it’s nice and fresh, but it will still look just as good if you leave it overnight, so feel free to do whatever suits you best. Grab a bowl and add the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract, then beat it with the mixer on high speed until stiff peaks start to form.
Transfer the whipped cream to the middle of the pie and smooth it out towards the edges with the back of a spoon or a cake spatula if you have one.
Finish the pie by sprinkling some chocolate shavings or cocoa powder on top. If you have some leftover chocolate and you want to make your own chocolate shavings, it’s pretty easy to make them yourself. Just use a cheese slicer on a piece of chocolate!
The pie is ready to be sliced and served. Enjoy, and try to not eat all of it a once! 😉