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Frangelico French Silk Pie

Name: Frangelico French Silk Pie
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: One 9-inch pie shell of your choice, homemade or store-bought pastry or chocolate cookie crust; 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature; 1 cup sugar; 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled; 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 tablespoon Frangelico, a hazelnut liqueur; 3 large eggs, pasteurized recommended, at room temperature; 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream; 2 tablespoons powdered sugar; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; Chocolate curls** or shavings

posted by Liz Berg on December 29, 2020 (updated 5/17/21)

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Frangelico French Silk Pie is an easy pie recipe that can be made with minimal ingredients resulting in maximum decadence! Your family will swoon over every bite of the most luscious chocolate pie they’ll ever taste.

If you need a last-minute addition to your holiday menu, a homemade Chocolate Pie Recipe is better than anything you could ever purchase!

Overhead view of a French Silk Pie in a red ceramic pie plate with whipped cream and chocolate garnishes

Table of Contents hide

1 Why You Should Make this Chocolate Pie

2 Tips for Making a French Silk Pie Recipe

3 What Is French Silk Pie?

4 Is It Safe to Eat Raw Eggs?

5 How Do You Pasteurize Eggs at Home?

6 More Tasty Chocolate Pie Recipes:

7 Frangelico French Silk Pie

Why You Should Make this Chocolate Pie

I’ve made all sorts of French silk pies and desserts but always come back to Jean Webster’s basic recipe. It’s the BEST.
That isn’t to say you can’t change it up a bit as I did with this pie. A nice slosh of Frangelico, a smooth hazelnut liqueur, adds an extra level of flavor. Plus alcohol, just like salt, is a known flavor enhancer!
And to make it easy, it’s delicious with a chocolate cookie crust or even a store-bought pastry crust!

My family expects a French Silk Pie every Thanksgiving, along with pumpkin. This Frangelico French silk pie was the first dessert to disappear—try it and you’ll see why!

Overhead view of a slice of french silk pie with a red handle fork

Tips for Making a French Silk Pie Recipe

This recipe may look complicated, but it’s a snap to prepare. Just don’t think about the calories as you add the ingredients!

A stand mixer with a paddle attachment makes for very little hands on time. Sit back and have a bonbon or two while the mixer chugs along.
PRO-Tip: Most of the ingredients are already in your kitchen or refrigerator, but I’d recommend hunting down some pasteurized eggs if you’re serving this pie to your children, the elderly or immune-compromised, since the eggs are added raw.
PRO-Tip: Make sure to have your eggs at room temperature. If they’re mixed in while cold, chocolate bits can solidify and the filling won’t be as silky smooth.
You can certainly skip the Frangelico completely or add your favorite liqueur. I contemplated using Kahlua as the coffee flavor plays beautifully with chocolate.
No matter which crust and liqueur you use, your family will request this amped-up Frangelico French silk pie every holiday to come!

Frangelico French Silk Pie in a red ceramic pie plate with whipped cream and chocolate curl garnishes

What Is French Silk Pie?

French Silk Pie was invented in 1951 for the Pillsbury Bake-Off. It’s made with a prebaked pie crust and filled with a silky smooth chocolate filling that usually contains raw eggs, which give it that luscious mouthfeel. It’s the texture of the filling that inspired the “silk” in the recipe title.

Is It Safe to Eat Raw Eggs?

There is always the risk of a foodborne illness, like salmonella, when eating raw eggs. So you may not want to feed this pie to the very young, very old, or anyone with a compromised immune system.

Please use caution and know the risks when serving this dessert. You can buy pasteurized eggs (they’ve been hard to find recently, though) or pasteurize at home to lessen the chance of food poisoning.

How Do You Pasteurize Eggs at Home?

I’ve done this for years when making Caesar salad and desserts like this French silk pie. You will need a good quality, calibrated digital thermometer for this simple process. Bring a pot of water to 140º and add your eggs.

Keep them between 140º and 142º (no higher) for 3 minutes by adjusting your burner as needed. Most bacteria is on the shell and this simple technique, when done properly, will decrease your risk significantly.

Close up of Frangelico French Silk Pie garnishes of whipped cream and chocolate curls

More Tasty Chocolate Pie Recipes:

Peppermint Chocolate Pie from Grandbaby Cakes
Chocolate Cream Pie
French Silk Pie
Fudgy Brownie Pie
Reese’s Peanut Butter Pie
S’mores Pie
More Pie Recipes

This chocolate pie recipe was first shared in December 2015. Photos and tips were updated in 2020. The above 2 photos show this pie made with a chocolate cookie crust, another delicious idea!

The Recipe: