French Silk Pie

An indulgent, decadent, rich, silky smooth chocolate dessert in a crisp chocolate cookie crust, topped with airy white chocolate whipped cream with the added twist of a gooey caramel layer not traditionally found in a French Silk Pie.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate, cookie crust, creamy, holiday, holiday table, no-bake, white chocolate

Category Pies

Baking Ambition Show-Stopper

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Chilling Time 1

Total Time 1 1 30

Servings

Calories 655kcal

Equipment

food processor
9 1/2" deep dish pie plate
medium saucepan
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.candy thermometer
small microwave safe bowl
stand mixer (or hand held electric mixer)
large mixing bowl
medium microwave safe bowl

Ingredients

Crust:

20 Oreo cookies dark chocolate
25 g sugar
⅛ tsp salt
37 g chocolate hazelnut spread
35 g butter room temperature

Caramel:

180 g sugar
86 g water
20 g corn syrup
¾ tsp salt
180 g heavy cream
10 g vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Filling

113 g dark (bittersweet) chocolate >60%
224 g butter cool room temperature
267 g ultrafine bakers sugar
10 ml vanilla extract
½ tsp espresso powder
¼ tsp salt
4 eggs cool room temperature

Topping:

420 ml whipping cream divided
200 g white chocolate good quality
⅛ tsp salt
chocolate shavings curls or sprinkles (optional garnish)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To make the Crust:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place the cookies, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the cookies are finely crushed and the sugar and salt are evenly distributed.
20 Oreo cookies, 25 g sugar, 1/8 tsp salt
Add butter and the chocolate hazelnut spread and pulse until well combined and starting to clump together.
37 g chocolate hazelnut spread, 35 g butter
Transfer the mixture into a deep dish 9 1/2 inch pie plate. Press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate - it should come up to the upper edge/rim of the plate.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

To make the Caramel:

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium heat and cook until the mixture is a deep amber color.
180 g sugar, 86 g water, 20 g corn syrup, 3/4 tsp salt
Quickly and carefully add the cream and vanilla bean paste (if you are using extract instead, do not add it until the very end or it will all cook off) and stir until fully incorporated.
180 g heavy cream, 10 g vanilla bean paste
Continue to cook the mixture until it reaches 234°F (if you are using vanilla extract, stir it in now), pour into the bottom of the prepared crust and refrigerate while preparing the filling.

to make the Filling:

Place the dark chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl. Use the "melt chocolate" function (or 30 second bursts) to completely melt the chocolate. Set aside to cool.
113 g dark (bittersweet) chocolate
Using the whisk attachment of your mixer, beat the butter, sugar and salt together until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is very light and fluffy.
224 g butter, 267 g ultrafine bakers sugar, 1/4 tsp salt
In a very small bowl, dissolve the espresso powder into vanilla extract. Add the espresso vanilla mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and blend until combined.
10 ml vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp espresso powder
Make sure the chocolate has cooled to room temperature, then fold the chocolate into the whipped butter and sugar mixture.
113 g dark (bittersweet) chocolate
Using the whisk attachment again, add the eggs one at a time beating for 4-5 minutes after each addition. Scrape down the bowl in between each egg addition. The final mixture should be light, fluffy and creamy.
4 eggs
Pour the filling into the prepared crust over the top of the layer of caramel, and smooth the top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 8 hours, or preferably overnight.

To make the Topping:

Place 210ml (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) whipping cream, the white chocolate and the salt in a microwave safe bowl. Use the "melt chocolate" function (or 30 second bursts) to heat the mixture until the white chocolate is completely melted forming a loose white chocolate ganache.
420 ml whipping cream, 200 g white chocolate, 1/8 tsp salt
Cover the white chocolate ganache and chill overnight - the mixture will be soft and stir-able straight from the refrigerator.
Using an electric mixer, beat the white chocolate ganache until it is light and fluffy - avoid over beating or the mixture may curdle or break.
Pour the remaining 210ml (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) of whipping cream into the whipped ganache and resume whipping (start low and work up to medium speed) until medium-firm peaks form.
420 ml whipping cream
Spread or pipe the white chocolate whipped cream evenly over the surface of the filling. If you like, garnish with chocolate shavings, curls or sprinkles. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Store leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator.
chocolate shavings

Notes

If you are concerned about the raw eggs in this recipe, you can opt for pasteurized eggs instead.
Even if you don't typically like bittersweet chocolate, I would not recommend swapping it out here. Semisweet or milk chocolate would be far too sweet in the finished pie.

Nutrition