Chocolate Silk Pie

Chocolate Pie is my all time favorite dessert. It's the one dessert that will automatically win over just about any other if I have to choose. This Chocolate Silk Pie is rich and decadent with the most amazing flavor and texture. Every bite features silky chocolate mousse filling, fluffy whipped cream, and the most delicious chocolate crust.

This pie is sure to satisfy even the biggest chocolate lover in your life. Its rich filling makes it feel decadent and fancy, but it is still relatively simple to make. Its cookie crust only takes two ingredients so you don't have to worry about working with pie dough and the whole pie doesn't require any baking!

There are three elements to this pie: the chocolate crust, chocolate mousse filling, and whipped cream. The chocolate crust is made from your favorite chocolate sandwich cookie and melted butter. It's best to have a food processor or blender handy for it and it will come together easily and quickly.

The chocolate mousse filling combines chocolate, eggs, sugar, butter, and cream. You'll melt down the chocolate, combine the eggs and sugar on the stove to cook them, blend together the butter, and whip the cream before bringing it all together for the most delicious part of the pie.

I recommend making sure you have a candy thermometer on hand to make sure you know exactly when the egg and sugar mixture reaches 160º. Cooking it to this temperature ensures that the eggs are cooked before being added to the filling. I also recommend having a double boiler or a heatproof bowl and pan of water to act as a double boiler for this step. Make sure that the bottom of your bowl does not touch the water in the pan below.

The last element you'll make is the whipped cream topping. It's super easy to make and just needs to be spread out evenly on top of the pie before you top it with more chocolate and dig in!

A FEW NOTES BEFORE WE GET STARTED.

• Room Temperature Ingredients:
  • Butter: It’s important that the butter is softened. In a pinch, you can put your butter in the microwave for about 5 seconds on each side, but watch closely to make sure it is just softening and not melting.
  • Eggs: You also want to make sure that the eggs are at room temperature to ensure that they are properly incorporated. If you forget to leave them out before you start baking, place them in a bowl of warm water for about 15 minutes until they become room temperature.

• Measuring Your Ingredients:
  • I strongly encourage that you use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients and ensure that you have the most accurate measurements possible.
  • However, if you don’t have a scale on hand and will be using cup measurements, make sure to use the “spoon and sweep” method when measuring to avoid packing in too much of any dry ingredient.

• Check out My Favorite Baking Tools to see what I use when I bake.

Let's bake! Get started by blending together the chocolate cookies (filling included) in a food processor or blender until they are a fine, sandlike consistency. Add in melted butter and blend until the crumbs start to clump together. If it seems too dry, add more melted butter, a tablespoon at a time. If it seems too wet, add another cookie, one at a time.

Using a small measuring cup sprayed with cooking spray, carefully press the crumbs into a pie shell until they cover the base and sides of the pie shell. Chill until needed.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. If using a microwave, melt in a microwave safe bowl for 15 seconds at a time, stirring in between until it is fully melted. Set aside. Using a double boiler or a heatproof bowl over a pan of water (water cannot touch the bottom of the bowl), combine the eggs and sugar. Stir constantly until a candy thermometer reaches 160º. Pour through a sieve into a bowl and let cool.

While the egg mixture cools, use a stand mixer or handheld mixer and a whisk attachment to whip the heavy cream on medium-high until somewhat stiff peaks have formed. Set aside. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and clean bowl, blend the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add the egg mixture, melted chocolate, and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Continue to mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl before gently folding in the whipped cream. You can do so by adding half, scraping around the sides and bottom of the bowl and carefully cutting through the mixture. Repeat this as the whipped cream continues to disappear into the chocolate. Add the rest of the cream and repeat, but be careful not to over mix or flatten the mixture.

Gently pour the chocolate mixture on top of the cookie crust and place plastic wrap directly over it. Chill for 4-6 hours until firm.

Once your pie is well chilled and you are ready to serve it, combine heavy cream and sugar in a medium sized bowl. Mix on medium-high with a handheld or stand mixer until somewhat stiff peaks have formed.

Remove the plastic wrap from the pie and if needed use the back of a spoon to gently smooth out the top of the chocolate to remove any lines from the plastic wrap. Carefully pile whipped cream on top of the pie and use an offset spatula or spoon to spread it out evenly. Top with chopped chocolate. Enjoy!