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This French Silk Tart with an Oreo crust made the cut this year for the Holidays, but it is easy enough for any time you need a luscious, decadent dessert!

A Chocolate Tart is the way to a chocoholic’s heart and this is one of the richest, dreamiest versions of a Chocolate Silk Pie that you’ll ever make!

French Silk Tart on a white serving plate.
Table of Contents hide
1 Why You Must Make
2 Ingredient Notes
3 Recipe Tips
4 Frequently Asked Questions
5 You May Also Like
6 French Silk Tart

Why You Must Make

  • This is the ultimate chocolate dessert! The filling is really rich and silky!
  • I fell in love with French Silk Pie when we’d get treated to the Baker’s Square version as kids.
  • Making this tart means no messing with a pastry crust!!

Once again, I’m reinventing the wheel. I don’t know how many iterations of a French silk pie I’ve actually made, but the crusts have varied from buttery pastry to pretzel to chocolate, the fillings have had raw eggs and cooked eggs, the sizes have varied from mini tarts to standard pie and now to a 10-inch tart. My family just can’t get enough of French silk. And a blogger just can’t make the same thing twice!

French Silk Tart slice on a square white plate with a red fork.

Ingredient Notes

This French Silk Tart was our bonus Thanksgiving dessert this year. The chocoholic hubby and offspring feel it is their inalienable right to have a second dessert despite that there are only 5 of us at the dinner table. I have to admit I couldn’t help snitching little slivers as I cut big slices after the main feast. This French Silk Tart will continue to be a mainstay holiday dessert!

  • Kitchen Staples – Butter (Salted butter is OK since a bit of salt will enhance the flavor of desserts), Sugar
  • Double Stuff Oreos – processed to crumbs
  • Unsweetened Chocolate – gently melted. I use short spurts in the microwave, stopping and stirring frequently until smooth.
  • Vanilla Extract – Use real vanilla extract. Make sure the label does not say artificially flavored.
  • Eggs – Make sure to pasteurize or buy pasteurized eggs if you’re serving this to the very young, very old, or anyone immune compromised. Raw eggs may contain salmonella, which can cause a food-borne illness.
  • Powdered Sugar – Sift if you want very smooth whipped cream.
  • Whip It – An optional ingredient you can add to the cream before whipping. It will stabilize the whipped cream so it doesn’t separate for 2-3 days.
French Silk Tart overhead view on a white serving plate.

Recipe Tips

  • This French Silk Tart recipe calls for raw eggs. The uncooked eggs give the filling a most satiny texture, which is why this is no ordinary chocolate tart, but a French “silk” tart. Unfortunately, raw eggs can harbor salmonella, a food-borne illness. I won’t go into details, but you definitely don’t want it, especially around the holidays. So it’s worth searching out some pasteurized eggs, especially if you’re feeding this to children or the elderly. Note: I’ve been eating raw cookie dough for decades and have never gotten salmonella, but it still pays to be cautious.
  • Safest Choice Eggs have been difficult to find lately, so check out this post from Simply Recipes on How to Pasteurize Eggs at home.
  • I like the ease of making an Oreo crust, but you can also make a pastry or graham cracker crust. Or buy a premade crust (you may have extra filling depending on the brand you purchase).
  • If you don’t want to mess with piping stars to garnish the top of your tart, just serve each slice with a dollop of whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
  • To make chocolate shavings, use a vegetable peeler to “peel” shavings from a chocolate bar.
  • Due to the eggs in the filling, make sure to slice, serve, and get the leftovers back in the refrigerator promptly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who Invented the French Silk Pie?

One of the earliest mentions of a French Silk Pie was as the 1951, $1000 winner, of the Pillsbury Bake Off.

Why Is It Called French Silk?

After your first bite, you’ll understand. French silk filling is rich, satiny, and very silky smooth.

Do French Silk Pies Contain Raw Eggs?

Yes, many recipes call for raw eggs which makes the filling super satiny. You can try to gently heat your whisked eggs over a double boiler until they reach 140 degrees. This will kill any salmonella before the eggs are cooked.

What Ingredients Are Needed for French Silk Pie Filling?

You’ll need eggs, sugar, unsweetened chocolate, butter, and vanilla extract to make a French silk pie or tart.

You May Also Like

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French Silk Tart
The Recipe:

French Silk Tart

Prep Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Yield 8 servings

A rich, satiny chocolate filling in an Oreo tart shell!

Ingredients

Oreo Crust:

  • 32 Double Stuff Oreos, processed to crumbs
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

  • ½ cup butter, at room temperature
  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 eggs, pasteurized recommended

Topping:

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar, sifted for the smoothest whipped cream
  • 1 packet Whip It (whip cream stabilizer), optional
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Chocolate shavings, optional, to garnish

Instructions

  1. To make the crust, mix Oreo crumbs and melted butter until well combined.
  2. Pat into the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch tart pan. Freeze for about 10 minutes.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar for about 2 minutes, till light and fluffy.
  4. With the mixer running, gradually add the melted chocolate and the vanilla.
  5. Add eggs, one at a time, beating at medium speed for 5 minutes after each addition.
  6. Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Loosely cover with plastic wrap, and cool in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
  7. Whip one cup of heavy cream, adding powdered sugar, Whip It (if using), and vanilla to taste. Pipe stars of whipped cream over the surface of the tart, or just spread the cream over the surface.
  8. Garnish with chocolate shavings if desired.

Notes

To make chocolate shavings, very gently warm a bar of semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave. With a vegetable peeler, scrape the sides of the bar to make shavings.
This dessert contains raw eggs so you may not want to serve it to young children or the elderly due to the chance of salmonella.
If you don't want to pipe the whipped cream on the surface of the pie, just serve with dollops of sweetened whipped cream.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 642Total Fat: 45gSaturated Fat: 25gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 134mgSodium: 368mgCarbohydrates: 57gFiber: 3gSugar: 40gProtein: 5g

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© Liz Berg
Cuisine: American / Category: Chocolate