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French Silk Pie (Chocolate Mousse Pie)
French silk pie is another name for chocolate mousse pie, with a texture and richness that make it feel extra special. Instead of a pudding filling like chocolate cream pie, French silk pie features a light, airy chocolate mousse that is still rich and intensely chocolatey. The filling is whipped until fluffy and smooth, then piled high into a fully baked pie crust. If you love chocolate cream pie but want something a little lighter in texture, French silk pie is the perfect next step. It delivers a bold chocolate flavor without feeling heavy.
What is French Silk Pie?
French silk pie is a classic chocolate mousse pie known for its incredibly smooth, light texture while still being deliciously chocolatey. It’s similar to a chocolate cream pie, but instead of a chocolate pudding filling, it features a whipped chocolate mousse, giving it a rich flavor and a silky finish.
French silk pie is often served in a flaky, fully blind-baked pastry crust. In this recipe, the dark chocolate mousse is piled into an all-butter pie crust If you want an even more intense chocolate experience, you can swap the pastry crust for an Oreo crumb crust.
French Silk Pie Filling vs Chocolate Mousse
The filling in French silk pie is essentially a specific type of chocolate mousse. If you search for chocolate mousse recipes, you’ll find many different methods. Some are similar to this recipe. Others call for folding in meringue with the whipped cream. Some don’t use eggs at all, while others use only egg whites or only egg yolks. French silk pie generally uses whole eggs and also incorporates whipped butter, which is less common in most chocolate mousse recipes.
Pasteurizing Eggs for French Silk Pie
In many parts of the world, including the United States and Canada, consuming raw or undercooked eggs is not considered food safe because of the risk of salmonella. Many older recipes for French silk pie, as well as older recipes for other mousse and chiffon pies, call for whipping raw eggs directly into the filling.
To make this French silk pie recipe food safe, this recipe and many other modern chocolate mousse recipes call for pasteurizing the eggs before being fully incorporated. This is done by heating the eggs over a double boiler until they reach 165°F (75°C). Reaching this temperature brings the eggs up to a food-safe temperature while still allowing for whipping the eggs into the chocolate mousse.
History of French Silk Pie
Despite its name, “French silk pie” is actually an American creation. The recipe was introduced to the public in 1951 when Betty Cooper of Kensington, Maryland won the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest with her dessert called “French Silk Chocolate Pie.” The pie, a lighter and fluffier version of chocolate cream pie, was an instant hit and has appeared regularly in cookbooks ever since.
The Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest began in 1949 as part of Pillsbury’s 80th anniversary celebration, and Betty Cooper was one of the early winners. The first grand prize was $50,000, which would be approximately $683,000 in 2026 U.S. dollars. The contest continues today, and winners still receive a $50,000 grand prize. In 2025, the winning dessert was “Big Win Cookie Bark.”
French Silk Pie, originally called French Silk Chocolate Pie at the competition, has appeared in cookbooks under several different names. Chocolate Mousse Pie is a common alternative since it directly describes the filling. Other names include French Chocolate Pie and Chocolate Silk Pie. As for why the original recipe was called French silk pie, that remains unclear. It may have been named for its silky texture and to suggest a sense of classiness and luxury by using the word French.
History of Chocolate Mousse
Although French silk pie may have first been introduced in 1951, chocolate mousse has been around for centuries. If you look up the history of chocolate mousse, there are some claims that a French painter named Henri Toulouse-Lautrec was the creator of the dessert. However, he wasn’t born until 1864, and there are published recipes for chocolate mousse dating back to the 1700s.
‘Mousse’ itself simply means ‘foam’ in French. One of the first mentions of foamy chocolate is in a 1684 French book entitled Le Bon Usage du Thé, du Caffé, et du Chocolat pour la Préservation & pour la Guérison des Maladies (The Proper Use of Tea, Coffee, and Chocolate for the Prevention and Cure of Diseases). It describes Indigenous peoples of the Americas frothing drinking chocolate until it became light and foamy.
By 1768, a French cookbook included a chocolate mousse recipe closer to what we recognize today, though it did not yet include eggs. The recipe called for whipping melted chocolate and cream together to create a light texture. In the 1800s, eggs were added to stabilize the mousse, enrich the flavor, and create a smoother texture. The well-known French cookbook L’Art du Cuisinier, published in 1814, includes a chocolate mousse recipe that would still feel familiar today.
Some sources claim chocolate mousse was once called chocolate mayonnaise. While that was never the standard name, a few cookbooks did use the term. This likely comes from the shared technique of emulsifying eggs and fat, which is central to both mayonnaise and many traditional chocolate mousse recipes.
The Food Historian is one of my favorite blogs and has a great article on the history of chocolate mousse here.
French Silk Pie Recipe
Crust:
For a classic French silk pie, prepare one fully-baked pie shell. If you want an extra chocolatey French silk pie, try making one in an Oreo crust.
Chocolate Mousse Recipe:
French silk pie can also be called chocolate mousse pie because the filling is chocolate mousse. Therefore, the recipe for the filling for this French silk pie doubles as a chocolate mousse recipe.
Ingredients
- 1¼c Granulated Sugar (250g)
- 4 Eggs
- 6oz Dark Chocolate (170g)
- 1½t Vanilla Extract
- 6oz Unsalted Butter, softened (170g)
- 1⅓c Heavy Whipping Cream, cold (315mL)
1.
In a small heatproof bowl set over a double boiler, melt the chocolate completely, stirring occasionally until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
Pro Tip: To make a double boiler, bring about 1 inch (3 cm) of water to a simmer in a small pot. Set a heatproof bowl on top so it rests over the pot without touching the water. The steam from the boiling water gently heats the bowl to about 212°F (100°C), but no hotter. This indirect heat allows you to melt chocolate smoothly and warm the eggs gradually.
2.
In a separate heatproof bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until fully combined.
3.
Place the bowl over a double boiler and whisk continuously until a candy thermometer reads 165°F (75°C). Remove the mixture from the heat and set aside.
4.
While the egg and sugar mixture cools slightly, beat the softened butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until completely smooth.
5.
Whisk together the melted chocolate from step 1, the vanilla, and the egg and sugar mixture from step 3 until fully combined.
6.
Once the mixture has cooled enough that it will not melt the butter, add it to the stand mixer. Beat on high speed for about 5 minutes. The mixture should become light, fluffy, and noticeably lighter in color.
7.
Transfer the whipped chocolate mixture to a large mixing bowl and thoroughly clean the stand mixer bowl.
8.
Fit the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Add the heavy whipping cream and whip until stiff peaks form.
9.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture from step 7 until fully incorporated and no streaks remain.
Assembling a French Silk Pie
1.
Spoon about ¾ of the prepared chocolate mousse into your fully baked pie crust.
2.
Using an offset spatula, gently press the mousse into the crust, making sure to push it all the way to the edges so there are no air pockets.
3.
Add the remaining chocolate mousse on top, mounding it slightly. Use an offset spatula to smooth and shape the mousse as desired. A cake turntable can make this step easier, but it is not necessary.
4.
Refrigerate the assembled French silk pie for 3–6 hours to allow the mousse to fully set. This chilling step is essential for achieving a smooth, rich, and stable texture.
How to Serve French Silk Pie
French silk pie is often topped with a layer of whipped cream, similar to chocolate cream pie. However, I find that the chocolate mousse is already light and creamy enough on its own, and an added layer of whipped cream does not necessarily improve the texture or flavor. I prefer to mound the chocolate mousse slightly above the crust and overfill the pie crust instead.
If you would rather add whipped cream on top, fill the pie crust so the chocolate mousse is level with the rim, using about three quarters of the filling this recipe makes. Then top the pie with freshly whipped cream just before serving. You can follow the whipped cream instructions in my chocolate cream pie recipe if you’d like a step-by-step guide.
Choosing Chocolate for French Silk Pie
The biggest difference between a good chocolate mousse and a great one comes down to the quality of the chocolate. The flavor and richness of your filling depend entirely on what chocolate you start with. These are the chocolate brands I personally trust for professional and home baking alike.
- Valrhona: Founded in 1922 in Ardèche, France, Valrhona is known worldwide for its consistency and depth of flavor. It’s one of the most respected names in pastry kitchens.
- Callebaut: A Belgian chocolate company established in 1911, Callebaut is a go-to brand for pastry chefs. It offers a wide range of couverture chocolates with balanced flavors and smooth texture.
- Guittard: Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Guittard has been crafting chocolate since 1868. They offer both professional and home-baking lines, with excellent options for chocolate ganache.
- Tcho: A newer company founded in 2007 in Berkeley, California, by a former NASA engineer and the creators of Wired Magazine. Despite its youth, Tcho has earned awards for innovative, high-quality chocolate.
If these brands aren’t available, don’t worry, any good-quality baking chocolate will still make a delicious French silk pie. Higher-end brands simply bring out more depth and smoothness in the final flavor. For a deeper dive, see my full guide on understanding and choosing chocolate for baking.
How to Store French Silk Pie
Because French silk pie is made with a dairy-based filling, it must be kept refrigerated. Cover the pie with plastic wrap or store it in a large, airtight container to keep it fresh. It will stay at its best for up to a week. After the first three to five days, the crust will start to soften as it absorbs moisture from the filling. That said, chocolate mousse is lighter and less wet than a cooked pudding filling, like the one in chocolate cream pie, so it tends to hold up a bit longer than most cream pies. Chocolate mousse has its best texture when it’s been chilled, so French silk pie is best enjoyed chilled straight from the refrigerator.
We’d love to see your French silk pie creations! If you give this recipe a try, tag @doggone_baking on social media so we can share in the baking fun.
French Silk Pie (Chocolate Mousse Pie)
Ingredients
- 1 Fully-Baked Pie Shell
- 1¼ cups Granulated Sugar (250g)
- 4 Eggs
- 6 oz Dark Chocolate (170g)
- 1½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- 6 oz Unsalted Butter, softened (170g)
- 1⅓ cups Heavy Whipping Cream, cold (315mL)
Instructions
Make the Chocolate Mousse
- In a small heatproof bowl set over a double boiler*, melt the chocolate completely, stirring occasionally until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a separate heatproof bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until fully combined.
- Place the bowl over a double boiler and whisk continuously until a candy thermometer reads 165°F (75°C). Remove the mixture from the heat and set aside.
- While the egg and sugar mixture cools slightly, beat the softened butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until completely smooth.
- Whisk together the melted chocolate from step 1, the vanilla, and the egg and sugar mixture from step 3 until fully combined.
- Once the mixture has cooled enough that it will not melt the butter, add it to the stand mixer. Beat on high speed for about 5 minutes. The mixture should become light, fluffy, and noticeably lighter in color.
- Transfer the whipped chocolate mixture to a large mixing bowl and thoroughly clean the stand mixer bowl.
- Fit the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Add the heavy whipping cream and whip until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture from step 7 until fully incorporated and no streaks remain.
Assemble the French Silk Pie
- Spoon about ¾ of the prepared chocolate mousse into your fully baked pie crust.
- Using an offset spatula, gently press the mousse into the crust, making sure to push it all the way to the edges so there are no air pockets.
- Add the remaining chocolate mousse on top, mounding it slightly. Use an offset spatula to smooth and shape the mousse as desired. A cake turntable can make this step easier, but it is not necessary.
- Refrigerate the assembled French silk pie for 3–6 hours to allow the mousse to fully set. This chilling step is essential for achieving a smooth, rich, and stable texture.
Notes
About Me
In 2016, I left my office job and became a professional baker. These days I spend my days testing recipes and baking pies while my two dogs snooze happily nearby.
