French Silk Pie with Graham Cracker Pecan Crust

I have loved this pie for over 25 years; it was definitely love at first bite. Simple ingredients come together and create magic in this French Silk Pie. Heaven!

Whole Chocolate Cream Pie with Whipped Cream and Chocolate Curls  

Hands down my favorite pie of all time. While I’ve seen several versions of French Silk Pie over the years, they’ve always been made with a regular pie crust but I have to tell you that for me; it’s the graham cracker pecan crust that elevates the chocolate mousse filling to new heights; the espresso doesn’t hurt either!

While I believe this is a perfect dessert for Valentine’s Day I don’t limit it to this one day of chocolate indulgence. We’ve had it for Mother’s Day (yes, remember it’s my MOST favorite!), summer barbecues, holidays and well, anytime the urge for chocolate indulgence strikes you, a French Silk Pie really does fit the bill.

The original recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, ‘Colorado Cache.’ It’s a Junior League of Denver cookbook that I received as a housewarming gift when I moved to Denver 25 years ago. I’ve added some espresso and vanilla and dolled it up with whipped cream and chocolate curls but even before those touches, the combination of that crust and chocolate filling was the ‘bomb.’

Slice of French Silk Pie on White Plate

I feel I must note that this fantastic pie does contain raw eggs. I don’t have a problem with this and if you do…first think if you have ever licked your fingers when making cookies or cake with eggs…ahh, you really don’t either!

For healthy people, the risk of salmonella is slim but if you are  pregnant, older or have a weak immune system, you should not consume raw eggs because of the risk of becoming ill. You might try pasteurized eggs but I have not done that so can’t speak from experience about those results. Now that I feel like one of those commercials for drugs on TV that makes me wonder why anyone would ever use any of them after the disclaimer…but they do, so let’s get on with the pie!

French Silk Pie with extra whipped cream.

While stellar in results it’s a little bit timely to make…but so easy. The lightness comes from 5 minutes of whipping the main ingredients together and 5 minutes of the same after adding each egg. I must warn you that if you LOVE this pie and are using a hand mixer…put a stand mixer on your Christmas or birthday or anniversary list now. Standing and mixing by hand for 20 minutes might not have you appreciate this baby quite so much.

It’s rich, light, smooth, creamy and just the perfect blend of deliciousness; a must make pie if you are a chocolate lover. I’ve made a couple of different versions too…try this as well if you love bourbon or tequila like I do!

[mv_create key=”193″ type=”list” title=”More French Silk Pie with Booze!” thumbnail=”https://creative-culinary.com/wp-content/uploads/French-Silk-Pie-1.jpg” layout=”hero”]

PIN ‘French Silk Pie with Graham Cracker Pecan Crust’

French Silk Pie PIN with Pie on plate and cup of coffee.

French Silk Pie PIN with Pie on plate and cup of coffee.

French Silk Pie with Graham Cracker Pecan Crust

Creative Culinary
A luscious chocolate pie with a wonderful graham cracker and pecan crust.
4.67 from 6 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 20 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 8 Servings
Calories 808 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the Crust:

  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • ¼ cup melted butter
  • ½ cup finely chopped pecans
  • ¼ cup sugar

For the Filling:

  • ½ cup butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup cocoa
  • 1 Tbsp dried espresso or coffee
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 extra large eggs

Garnish

  • Whipped cream
  • Chocolate Curls

Instructions
 

Prepare the Crust:

  • Put the graham cracker crumbs into a food process and process until you have a fine crumb. Add the pecans and process until the nuts are a very small crumb and blended in.
  • Add the sugar and mix well, then slowly steam the butter into the dry ingredients and process until they come together.
  • Pat into a 9 inch pie plate and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes; just turning brown.
  • Remove from oven and cool completely.

Prepare the filling:

  • Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together. Combine the sugar, cocoa, espresso and salt in a small bowl and whisk together. Add it to the butter mixture and beat for 5 minutes, scraping bowl often.
  • Add each egg separately and beat for a full 5 minutes after the addition of each egg. Scrape bowl often.
  • Pour the mixture into the cooled pie crust and smooth it out to the edges. Pipe whipped cream on top of pie and sprinkle with chocolate curls. Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving. Can be frozen too.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
French Silk Pie with Graham Cracker Pecan Crust
Serving Size
 
1 grams
Amount per Serving
Calories
808
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
52
g
80
%
Saturated Fat
 
25
g
156
%
Trans Fat
 
1
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
23
g
Cholesterol
 
233
mg
78
%
Sodium
 
461
mg
20
%
Carbohydrates
 
76
g
25
%
Fiber
 
3
g
13
%
Sugar
 
60
g
67
%
Protein
 
9
g
18
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Similar Posts

50 Comments

    1. It is a killer Katrina. My all time favorite pie I can only make with a crowd coming or I would seriously eat the whole thing!

  1. I was so excited to try this recipe. It looks so good in the photo. I went out and spent money I shouldn’t have on some of the ingredients. Got home. Followed the recipe as it says.. and I got a liquid mess!. I left the pie in the refrigerator over night since about 9pm. The filing was still liquid at 11am. Really? You don’t have to cook the eggs? Just beat them in 5 minutes each with everything else as is? It didn’t work for me, even while following exactly, your directions….. I am going to try, again, to make Chocolate Silk Pie, using someone else’s recipe.

    1. Jessica I’m sorry it didn’t work for you; we’ve made this recipe for years with success. Did you beat the eggs individually for 5 minutes each before adding another egg and then doing the same thing? The combination of ingredients and the lengthy beating should result in a light/airy filling, it should never have been liquid at all. I wish I could discern for you what happened but do hope you found something more to your liking.

    2. I agree same exact thing happened to me! Watered down mess…..either the ingredients list isn’t quite right or there are some steps missing! Extremely sad

      1. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out for you but I have been making this pie for 20 plus years and it has always been fantastic. The ingredients and method are correct.

        If it was watery the only thing that could have made it that way is the eggs. I’m guessing they weren’t beat long enough.

    1. My favorite pie. Summer or winter. Some struggle with the raw eggs; I just make sure they have no cracks and I do take the step to wipe off the shell with antibacterial soap and rinse; mostly for the naysayers. I’ve been making this pie for 30 years. I’m still alive. 🙂

    1. Who made up those stupid rules…sometimes it just is that, right. For all those who object to delicious I made up my own word. Yummalummadingdong. Now how sophisticated is THAT? 🙂

      My most favoritist (oops there I go again) pie ever.

    1. I promise Natalie…it is so good. I might have ‘tested’ one of them so much before company years ago I had to make it again.

  2. Barb –

    This pie is GORGEOUS!!!! Looks like you’re having fun with the new camera.

    My office peeps will LOVE me if I can whip this up for them!

    [K]

    P.S. I’ve been down and out this week with the flu, but wanted to thank you for your V-day message. Hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!!!! xoxo

  3. I my gosh! This reminds me of a pie my mama used to make us when we were growing up; however yours is a little upscale! I just bought Kahlua yesterday….this pie may be in my future! Delish and yes, there is a definite progression in your photos! Nice job!

  4. Good chocolate with wine…I’ll be right over! What a stunning looking Silk Pie, Barb. I sure would like a slice or two of that. I think that first image should be on a magazine cover…just gorgeous!

  5. I wish I had one of these pies for Valentine’s Day! Wow, it looks so good with the graham cracker crust. Your pictures are looking great. A new camera and a new set-up are working well! 🙂

    1. Let me know Wendy; I would love to know the difference. I was most surprised when I did a cursory check online that the graham cracker crust is unique…I think it’s critical to it’s success!

  6. Since we are dealing with “unapproved words” I am going to go with “YUMMY!!!” How could it not be with all my favorite things in it – chocolate, kahlua, cream, espresso, pecans and graham crackers!!

    I love that you posted the original picture – it is such a great feeling to see progress – FG and TS watch out!!!!!

    Hope you and the gals have a great “un Valentine’s Day”!!!

    1. Oh no you didn’t! I find in lieu of using approved words I’m making ones up…more fun! But I still like the ‘Y’ word and glad you appreciated the old photo. It is good to see progress, does not mean the big guns will approve but sometimes it’s really not about that is it? We had a great, fun night…with guys here too actually!

  7. I have a week spot for chocolate+coffee, especially if it comes in creamy form. I would LOVE to have a standing mixer, and it is on my list (for several years now), but I would gladly sacrifice 20 minutes of mixing for this indulgence!
    What a difference a new camera makes! I am glad that you love yours as much as I love mine (learning something every day:)
    Happy V-day (if you celebrate)!

  8. Oh I am swooning! The photo is gorgeous and jumps out at me and screams my name! I adore your additions and this is one recipe for me! Wow wow wow an easy recipe that is so beautiful, fabulous and just the right flavors (oh yeah, chocolate and espresso?) would definitely become one of my favoritists too. Fab, Barbara!

    1. Thanks Jamie…as I finished off the last little sliver with coffee this morning I am sort of amazed myself at how I swoon over each bite…it’s almost too simple to elicit that response. But it does, promise.

  9. I have the Colorado Cache book, too, after a friend recommended it for its good recipes. I should really open it up as this is the second recipe I’ve seen referencing it. This pie is gorgeous–I imagine I would love it, too.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.