The Chocolate Lover’s Silk Pie
I’m sensing a chocolate theme starting to emerge on this blog. Last week I did a flour-less chocolate cake, this week I’m doing a silk pie and next week . . . well, let’s just say I’m not quite ready to let go of chocolate just yet. And who can blame me?
My chocolate adventures have led me to my new favorite chocolate-y treat: French Silk Pie. It’s soooooo good. Nom nom nom. It’s such a light and airy dessert that’s perfect when you’re craving something sweet.
I swear French Silk Pie is the epitome of comfort food. It’s literally filled with chocolate. It’s also a great dessert to make when you’re entertaining guests. You can make the pie ahead of time and store in the fridge for up to four days. Just pull it out when you’re ready to serve it, and add a topping of whipped cream + chocolate shavings. This Chocolate Lover’s French Silk Pie so simple to make, and it’s sure to impress a crowd.
What’s a French Silk Pie anyway?
Named for its silky texture, it’s a pie filled with chocolate mousse and usually served with a whipped cream topping. It became popular after being crowned the winning dessert at a Pillsbury Bake-Off contest in the 1950s. Despite its name, this dessert is actually American in its origin.
A concern stems from the recipe’s traditional incorporation of raw eggs. If you run a Google search for “French silk pie,” a suggestion that comes up is actually “French silk pie without raw eggs.” Over the years, modifications of the recipe have developed, including versions that have a cooked filling or substitutes in pasteurized eggs. Pasteurized eggs have been heat-treated in order to reduce the likelihood of incurring a food-borne illness such as salmonella (ugh, gives me shivers just typing out that word). Either way, there’s many variations of silk pie for whatever suits your tastes.
And how do you make a French Silk Pie? It’s easy right? Please say it’s easy.
Prepare and bake the crust. This recipe calls for “blind baking” aka pre-baking the pie crust. This just means that we bake the crust without a filling. The reason we blind bake it is because the filling itself doesn’t need to be baked as well. At the end, we just pour the filling into the prepared pie crust before chilling. But of course we don’t want to pour the filling onto a raw dough! So preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll out your homemade or store-bought pie crust and place it over a 9-inch pie pan. Crimp the edges. This is completely optional, but brush on a little bit of egg wash (an egg + 1 tbsp of water) if you’d like to make the edges a little more golden. Line the bottom of the pie crust with some parchment paper and bake with weights in the center. This is super important — don’t skip this step or else your crust will puff up (trust me, I found out the hard way). A good substitute for pie weights is dried beans, dried rice, or even some coins. Bake the pie crust in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Let the crust cool to room temperature. Pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes or while you prep the filling.
Make the whipped cream. Use an electric mixer to whip 1 cup of heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. It takes me about 2 ½ to 3 minutes on medium-high speed. Place the whipped cream in the fridge until it’s time to bring it out again.
Whisk the eggs and sugar over a double-boiler. Place a pot filled with two to three inches of water over medium heat. Stack a metal or glass bowl on top of the pot and fill it with 4 eggs and 1 ¼ cup sugar. Make sure the water doesn’t actually touch the bottom of the bowl! Stir the egg and sugar mixture constantly over 10 minutes. The heat from the water below will gently cook the eggs to make them safe to eat. When the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove the bowl from the heat and let cool.
Melt the chocolate. Using the same double boiler, replace the bowl with the egg mixture with a metal or glass bowl filled with ¾ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Stirring occasionally, melt the chocolate until its smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool.
Cream the butter. Taking an electric hand mixer, cream 1 cup of very softened butter. You want the butter to be super soft otherwise you’ll end up with chunks of butter in your silk pie. Set aside.
Start incorporating everything. Fold the melted chocolate into the egg mixture. Add in the creamed butter. Then add in the espresso powder, cocoa powder, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Finally, fold in the whipped cream. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust.
Chill. Cover the silk pie with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight. Before serving, top it with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. A way to make homemade whipped cream is to use an electric hand mixer to beat together 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract, and 1 tbsp of sugar. Enjoy!
I’ve never met a chocolate dessert I didn’t like, and the same goes for this French silk pie. This chocolate dream has a pillowy mousse-like filling. It’s topped with fresh whipped cream. And it’s garnished with chocolate shavings. Plus, there’s a cooked filling, which means no worrying about consuming raw eggs.
The Chocolate Lover’s French Silk Pie
Ingredients:
- 1 pie crust (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup very softened, unsalted butter
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp espresso powder
- 2 tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla
- Chocolate shavings
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place your pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate. Crimp the ends of your pie crust. Brush the edges with egg wash (an egg + 1 tbsp of water) if you desire. Line the pie with parchment paper and place pie weights on top of the parchment paper. Bake your pie crust for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Then place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes, or while you prep the rest of the filling.
- Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Place in the fridge until it’s time to bring it out again.
- Place a double boiler filled with the eggs and sugar over medium heat. Constantly whisk the mixture for 10 minutes or until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- Melt the chocolate chips over the double boiler until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- Cream the softened butter until light and fluffy. Set aside.
- Combine the cooled chocolate with the cooled egg mixture. Add in the butter. Then add the espresso powder, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla. Finally fold in the whipped cream.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust. Cover with cling wrap and chill overnight so that the filling sets. To make the whipped cream topping, use an electric hand mixer to beat together the heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Before serving, top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
