In this Homemade French Silk Pie recipe, a flaky pie crust is filled with a chocolate cream filling and topped with homemade whipped cream! This chocolate silk pie recipe is made from scratch and tastes even better than Baker's Square or Village Inn!
Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor fitted with an “S” blade and pulse to combine.
Add the shortening and cold water and process until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, begins to stick together, and holds together when pinched.
Remove the dough from processor (it will be crumbly) and form it into a round, flat disc.
Wrap the disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to one day (overnight).
After the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Roll out dough on a well-floured surface or pastry cloth.
Place it into a deep, 9-inch, round pie plate and pinch the edges to form a crust. Then, gently prick the dough with a fork all over.
Set a piece of parchment paper on top of the crust, then add the pie weights.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until it just begins to brown. If any bubbles form, gently deflate them by pricking with a fork or sharp knife.
Set aside to cool.
Make the Whipped Topping
Put 1 ¼ cups of whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire whisk attachement (or use a large bowl and handheld mixer).
Beat, starting on low speed and increasing to high speed for 2-3 minutes, or until stiff peaks form.
Transfer to another bowl, or to a large piping bag, and set aside in the refrigerator.
Make the French Silk Pie Filling
Whip ¾ cup whipping cream (for the filling) in a standing mixer fitted with the wire whisk attachment on high until stiff peaks form. Set aside in the refrigerator.
Melt chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Set aside to cool.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachement, or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, cream the butter sugar, powdered sugar and vanilla together 3 minutes - until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is light and fluffy.
Add the melted chocolate and beat for 1 minute, pausing and scraping down the sides once halfway through.
Add eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed for 1 minute after each addition.
Gently fold in the ¾ cup of whipped cream by hand.
Assemble
Evenly spread the chocolate filling into the baked and cooled pie crust.
Top with whipped topping in one of two ways: 1) Simply spread the whipped topping over the pie with a spatula or 2) Pipe the whipped topping on top with a decorator’s tip to make a pretty design.
Place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Serve chilled and enjoy.
Video
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions
Pie Crust: If you make the pie crust I recommend not making any substituions, except that you can swap shortening for butter, and follow this all-butter pie crust recipe. Or use Oreo Pie Crust, or store-bought crust for convenience.
Salted Butter. unsalted butter can be used in place of salted butter.
Semi-sweet chocolate. You can use any form (chips, chocolate bars, melting discs, etc.) or any percentage of chocolate in this recipe and it will taste amazing. Milk chocolate yields a sweeter pie, while dark or unsweetened chocolate results in a less sweet pie.
Whipping cream. Heavy whipping cream, whipping cream, or heavy cream each work well in this recipe. I discuss the difference in this post: how to make whipped cream.
Freeze
Place assembled pie in the freezer, or put individual pie slices on a baking sheet in the freezer.
Freeze for 2 hours, or until the whipped cream is frozen solid.
Tightly wrap with plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 2 months.
ThawTransfer the frozen French Silk Pie to the refrigerator at least 24 hours before you would like to serve it. Serve chilled.