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French Silk Chocolate Pie

By Diane Unger

Published on August 15, 2013

Time

2 hours, plus 5 hours chilling

Yield

Serves 8 to 10

Featured Comment

"Holy moly, is this scrumptious! The texture is superb. If you’re a chocolate lover, this is a must!" —Jennifer S.

Chocolate pie topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings

Ingredients

Pie Dough

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, divided1¼ cups (6¼ ounces/177 grams) all-purpose flour, divided1 tablespoon sugar½ teaspoon salt¼ cup ice water

Filling

1 cup heavy cream, chilled3 large eggs¾ cup (5¼ ounces/149 grams) sugar2 tablespoons water8 ounces (227 grams) bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled1 tablespoon vanilla extract8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and softened

Before You Begin

You will need a fully baked pie shell for this recipe. Use your favorite pie dough or use our Foolproof All-Butter Pie Dough for Single-Crust Pie recipe (included in recipe) or Pat-in-the-Pan Pie Dough recipe. If using a different pie shell than the Foolproof All-Butter Pie Dough for Single-Crust Pie, jump to step 15. Serve this chocolate pie with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Make Ahead: Pie dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or wrapped and frozen up to 1 month (if frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling). Crust can be baked up to 24 hours in advance. Filled pie can be refrigerated up to 24 hours.

Instructions

    for the dough

  1. Grate 2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter on large holes of box grater and place in freezer. Cut remaining 8 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter into ½-inch cubes.
  2. Pulse 3¾ ounces all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, and ½ teaspoon table salt in food processor until combined, 2 pulses. Add cubed butter and process until homogeneous paste forms, about 30 seconds.
  3. Using your hands, carefully break paste into 2-inch chunks and redistribute evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 2½ ounces all-purpose flour and pulse until mixture is broken into pieces no larger than 1 inch (most pieces will be much smaller), 4 to 5 pulses.
  4. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add grated butter and toss until butter pieces are separated and coated with flour.
  5. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Toss with rubber spatula until mixture is evenly moistened. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture and toss to combine. Press dough with spatula until dough sticks together.
  6. Transfer dough to sheet of plastic wrap. Draw edges of plastic over dough and press firmly on sides and top to form compact, fissure-free mass. Wrap in plastic and flatten to form 5-inch disk. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
  7. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
  8. Roll dough into 12-inch circle on well-floured counter.
  9. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang around edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand.
  10. Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate using your fingers.
  11. Refrigerate dough‑lined plate until firm, about 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
  12. Line chilled pie shell with aluminum foil, covering edges to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights. Bake until edges are set and just beginning to turn golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
  13. Remove foil and weights, rotate plate, and continue to bake until golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes longer. If crust begins to puff, pierce gently with tip of paring knife.
  14. Let crust cool completely in plate on wire rack, about 30 minutes (pie crust can be baked up to 24 hours in advance).
  15. for the filling

  16. Using either stand or hand mixer, whisk 1 cup chilled heavy cream on medium-high speed, until stiff peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer whipped cream to bowl and refrigerate.
  17. Microwave 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate in medium bowl at 50 percent power, stirring often, until melted, 1½ to 2 minutes.
  18. Bring 1 inch water to simmer in medium saucepan over medium heat. In heatproof bowl, combine 3 large eggs, ¾ cup sugar, and 2 tablespoons water. Place bowl over barely simmering water, and using hand mixer, beat on medium speed until mixture is thickened and registers 160 degrees, 7 to 10 minutes.
  19. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat on medium speed egg mixture until fluffy and cooled to room temperature (mixture registers between 70 and 80 degrees), about 8 minutes.
  20. Add melted chocolate and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract to egg mixture and beat until incorporated. Add 8 tablespoons softened unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, a few pieces at a time, and beat until well combined. Using spatula, fold in whipped cream until no streaks of white remain.
  21. Transfer filling to pie shell and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours. Cut into wedges and serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

French Silk Chocolate Pie

Headshot of Diane Unger
By Diane Unger
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Time

2 hours, plus 5 hours chilling

Yield

Serves 8 to 10

Featured Comment

"Holy moly, is this scrumptious! The texture is superb. If you’re a chocolate lover, this is a must!" —Jennifer S.

Ingredients

Ingredient check listPie Dough
Ingredient check listFilling

Ingredients

Ingredient check listPie Dough
Ingredient check listFilling

Ingredients

Ingredient check listPie Dough
Ingredient check listFilling

Why This Recipe Works

Don't let the name fool you: the recipe for French Silk Pie was born in America. Created by Betty Cooper in 1951 for the third annual Pillsbury Bake-Off, this old-fashioned icebox chocolate pie is rarely made today, perhaps because it calls for raw eggs. We wanted to develop a modern, cooked-egg version with ramped-up chocolate flavor. We tried using egg substitutes first in place of raw eggs, but these had an off, artificial flavor. We found that only real eggs would do, but rather than incorporate them raw, we cooked them with sugar on the stovetop, almost like making a custard. Once the egg and sugar mixture was light and thick, we removed it from the heat and continued whipping it until it was fully cooked. The filling was much too dense when we beat in the two sticks of softened butter called for in the original recipe. Instead, we cut the amount of butter in half for a more satiny texture. We had the texture locked down for our French silk chocolate pie recipe, but it was still lacking in flavor. We found bittersweet chocolate folded into the cooled egg and sugar mixture boosted the chocolate flavor better than other varieties we tested. To lighten the chocolate pie, we incorporated whipped cream into the filling before spooning it into the pie shell—the filling was light and silky, but rich, thick, and chocolaty.

Before You Begin

You will need a fully baked pie shell for this recipe. Use your favorite pie dough or use our Foolproof All-Butter Pie Dough for Single-Crust Pie recipe (included in recipe) or Pat-in-the-Pan Pie Dough recipe. If using a different pie shell than the Foolproof All-Butter Pie Dough for Single-Crust Pie, jump to step 15. Serve this chocolate pie with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Make Ahead: Pie dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or wrapped and frozen up to 1 month (if frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling). Crust can be baked up to 24 hours in advance. Filled pie can be refrigerated up to 24 hours.

Instructions

    for the dough

  1. Grate 2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter on large holes of box grater and place in freezer. Cut remaining 8 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter into ½-inch cubes.
  2. Pulse 3¾ ounces all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, and ½ teaspoon table salt in food processor until combined, 2 pulses. Add cubed butter and process until homogeneous paste forms, about 30 seconds.
  3. Using your hands, carefully break paste into 2-inch chunks and redistribute evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 2½ ounces all-purpose flour and pulse until mixture is broken into pieces no larger than 1 inch (most pieces will be much smaller), 4 to 5 pulses.
  4. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add grated butter and toss until butter pieces are separated and coated with flour.
  5. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Toss with rubber spatula until mixture is evenly moistened. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons ice water over mixture and toss to combine. Press dough with spatula until dough sticks together.
  6. Transfer dough to sheet of plastic wrap. Draw edges of plastic over dough and press firmly on sides and top to form compact, fissure-free mass. Wrap in plastic and flatten to form 5-inch disk. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
  7. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
  8. Roll dough into 12-inch circle on well-floured counter.
  9. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang around edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand.
  10. Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate using your fingers.
  11. Refrigerate dough‑lined plate until firm, about 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.
  12. Line chilled pie shell with aluminum foil, covering edges to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights. Bake until edges are set and just beginning to turn golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
  13. Remove foil and weights, rotate plate, and continue to bake until golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes longer. If crust begins to puff, pierce gently with tip of paring knife.
  14. Let crust cool completely in plate on wire rack, about 30 minutes (pie crust can be baked up to 24 hours in advance).
  15. for the filling

  16. Using either stand or hand mixer, whisk 1 cup chilled heavy cream on medium-high speed, until stiff peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer whipped cream to bowl and refrigerate.
  17. Microwave 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate in medium bowl at 50 percent power, stirring often, until melted, 1½ to 2 minutes.
  18. Bring 1 inch water to simmer in medium saucepan over medium heat. In heatproof bowl, combine 3 large eggs, ¾ cup sugar, and 2 tablespoons water. Place bowl over barely simmering water, and using hand mixer, beat on medium speed until mixture is thickened and registers 160 degrees, 7 to 10 minutes.
  19. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat on medium speed egg mixture until fluffy and cooled to room temperature (mixture registers between 70 and 80 degrees), about 8 minutes.
  20. Add melted chocolate and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract to egg mixture and beat until incorporated. Add 8 tablespoons softened unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, a few pieces at a time, and beat until well combined. Using spatula, fold in whipped cream until no streaks of white remain.
  21. Transfer filling to pie shell and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours. Cut into wedges and serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
  22. 21.Enjoy!
    Chocolate pie topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings

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