French Silk Pie

Today's delectable concoction of amazingness?: French Silk Pie. That's right, it was National Pie Day (no joke) so I made you all a pie! Chocolate silk, French silk, French chocolate silk, silky chocolaty yum yums...call it whatever you want, but it really is a piece of heaven! This pie is so creamy and smooth, so sweet and soft, you will have to force yourself not to have a second piece, (I tried to force myself, but myself won tonight and had another piece, darn self!) I first made this pie at Christmas this year and it was amazing. It can be made with either a graham cracker crust or a regular pastry crust; but I really can't decide which tastes better.

The trick with French silk pie is in adding the eggs. When you add the eggs this must be done on a pretty high speed or you are going to be twiddling your thumbs for a long, long time. Sufficed to say, you may not want to do this recipe by hand.  Beating the eggs in on high incorporates the air that you need into the mix that you need to form fluffy stiff peaks, just like when you make homemade whipped cream (below). Another tip, for a thicker pie, you can substitute an additional ounce of baking chocolate for 2 tbsp of the butter (6 tbsp instead of a whole stick), this was how I made it the first time and if you're in the mood for something with a bit more body, go with the thicker version. Enjoy and have a Happy National Pie Day!

French Silk Pie

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 0z. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and mostly cooled
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

1. Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in the chocolate and vanilla until well incorporated.
2. Next add the eggs, one at a time, beating on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes after each egg. Batter should form smooth, stiff peaks.
3. Pour into a prepared graham cracker or pastry pie crust and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours, or until hard-set (pie should be fairly firm on top). Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings if desired.

Whipped Cream Topping

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2-3 tbsp powdered sugar

1. In a well-chilled mixing bowl, beat cream and powdered sugar together on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, scraping bowl as needed. Do not over beat.


Note: this pie filling is gluten free, based on the type of baking chocolate used. Try it with a gluten free pie crust!


Photos by The Chocolate Cookie