Equipment
* optional
Ingredients
Chocolate Cookie Crust
- 200 g chocolate cookie crumbs
- 70 g unsalted butter, melted
- 20 g granulated sugar
- 1 g fine sea salt
Chocolate Silk Filling
- 225 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 30 ml water
- 115 g unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small cubes
- 240 ml heavy cream, cold
- 10 ml vanilla extract
Vanilla Whipped Topping
- 240 ml heavy cream, cold
- 20 g powdered sugar, sifted
- 5 ml vanilla extract
- 20 g dark chocolate, shaved or curled
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 777 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbohydrates
- 62 g
- Fat
- 56 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 48 g
- Sodium
- 256 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 32 g
- Trans Fat
- 1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 13 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 3 g
- Cholesterol
- 215 mg
- Potassium
- 258 mg
- Calcium
- 98 mg
- Iron
- 2.4 mg
- Magnesium
- 54 mg
- Phosphorus
- 164 mg
- Zinc
- 1.2 mg
- Vitamin A
- 446 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 1.5 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 1.6 mg
- Vitamin K
- 6 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.4 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.08 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.39 mg
- Niacin
- 1.0 mg
- Folate
- 28 mcg
- Water
- 64 g
- Alcohol
- 1 g
- Caffeine
- 259 mg
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat your oven to 175°C or 350°F.
In a mixing bowl, combine the chocolate cookie crumbs, melted unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and salt. Mix until the texture resembles wet sand.
Press the crumb mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan.
Bake the crust at 175°C or 350°F for 10 minutes to set. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
Place the finely chopped dark chocolate in a heatproof mixing bowl set over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth, then set aside to cool slightly.
In another heatproof mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, and water. Place this bowl over the saucepan of simmering water.
Continuously whisk the egg mixture over the simmering water until it reaches 71°C or 160°F on a digital thermometer to pasteurize the eggs and thicken the base.
Transfer the heated egg mixture to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or use an electric hand mixer. Whip on high speed until the mixture is very thick, pale, and has cooled to room temperature.
Reduce the mixer speed to low. Gradually add the room temperature butter cubes, a few at a time, followed by the slightly cooled melted chocolate and vanilla extract. Mix just until combined.
In a clean mixing bowl, whip the 240ml of cold heavy cream until medium peaks form.
Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate egg mixture in two additions until no white streaks remain.
Pour the filling into the completely cooled cookie crust. Smooth the top with a spatula.
Refrigerate the pie uncovered for at least 4 hours, or until the filling is firm and completely set.
Before serving, whip the remaining heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Spread or pipe onto the chilled pie and garnish with shaved dark chocolate.
Chef's Notes
- Traditional French Silk pies use raw eggs creamed with sugar and butter. This modernized recipe utilizes a Swiss meringue technique for the eggs, safely cooking them to 71C/160F while yielding a more stable, velvety texture.
- Quality matters deeply here. Choose a couverture or high-quality dark chocolate bar rather than chocolate chips, as chips contain stabilizers that prevent them from melting smoothly.
- Temperature control is the secret to perfect emulsion. If your kitchen is very cold, your butter might not incorporate smoothly. Ensure your butter is soft enough to easily indent with a finger, but not greasy or melting.
- When folding the cream into the dense chocolate base, sacrifice a small dollop of the whipped cream by stirring it in vigorously first. This lightens the base, making it much easier to gently fold in the remaining cream without deflating.
Storage
Refrigerator: 4 days — Store loosely covered to prevent condensation from dripping onto the whipped cream.
Freezer: 1 month — Freeze without the whipped cream topping. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before garnishing and serving.
Troubleshooting
Filling separates or looks grainy after adding butter and chocolate
Cause: The chocolate was too hot or the butter was too cold, breaking the emulsion
Fix: Place the bowl over a warm water bath for just a few seconds while whisking vigorously to re-emulsify the fats
Prevention: Ensure the egg foam is cooled to room temperature, butter is thoroughly softened but not melting, and chocolate is tepid before combining
Scrambled egg pieces in the base
Cause: Egg mixture was heated too quickly or not whisked constantly over the double boiler
Fix: Pour the heated egg mixture through a fine mesh strainer before moving it to the stand mixer to whip
Prevention: Keep the water at a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil, and whisk constantly
Filling did not set after chilling
Cause: The eggs were not whipped to the ribbon stage, or the cream was under-whipped
Fix: Cannot be fixed once assembled, but can be frozen and served as a semifreddo pie
Prevention: Whip the eggs and sugar until vastly increased in volume, and whip the heavy cream to true medium peaks before folding
Cultural Context
Despite its European-sounding name, the French Silk Pie is an American invention, first gaining national fame in 1951 when Betty Cooper won a prize at the Pillsbury Bake-Off. The name was chosen to reflect the incredibly smooth, rich texture of the filling, mimicking the luxurious mouthfeel of French chocolate mousse.
