I just LOVE French Silk Pie. It is one of my favorite pies, second only to my Dad’s pumpkin pie. I have tried many different recipes over the years but I’ve never quite been happy with how they turned out. They were either not creamy enough or too grainy. However, for my recent birthday my brother in law gave me the new Food Network “Sweets” book. I have to say this book had some great recipes in it!One of the recipes was a Chocolate Pie/French Silk pie, so I decided to try it out. I adapted it slightly to suit my tastes and I’ve already made it twice since I then. I’ve never been one to enjoy a traditional pie crust so I made these with a graham cracker crust. The pie filling is a wonderfully creamy custard with a perfect balance of flavors. I’ve topped the pie with both marshmallow fluff and whipped cream and both of them have been amazing. You can really put whatever you like on top I’m sure most flavors will compliment it nicely.
French Silk Pie Recipe:
For the Crust:30 Wafer Cookies3 Tbsp Sugar6 Tbsp Melted ButterYou can also use a premade graham cracker crust. If you choose to go with a traditional pie crust you will need to blind bake it before you add the filling.To make the crust grind the cookies and sugar in a food processor, add the melted butter and pulse until moist. Press into a 9inch pie plate and bake for 18-22 minutes. Cool before filling.
For the Filling:2 Cups Milk or Cream½ Cup Sugar¼ Cup Cornstarch½ tsp Salt4 Egg Yolks2 Tbsp Water¼ tsp Vanilla Extract4oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chopped/Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Heat the milk in a large saucepan until hot but not boiling. Whisk the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl then add the egg yolk, water and vanilla. Whisk half of the hot milk into the mixture until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the mixture into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens. This will take approximately 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat once it thickens and stir in the chocolate.{The recipe calls for chopped chocolate. I never seem to have the baker’s bars on hand so I typically just use chocolate chips. I know some bakers’ say not to do this because of the differences in the amount of cocoa butter in the chocolate chips and the baker’s bars. I’ve never had any trouble substituting the chocolate chips though. If you happen to have a baker’s bar on hand I would suggest you use it. You will have a richer finished product. But don’t worry if you only have chocolate chips on hand, those will work great in this recipe!}Transfer the mixture into another bowl and let it cool, whisking it every so often to prevent a skin from forming.Pour into the pie crust and press plastic wrap onto the top and let it cool in the refrigerator. I found it was best to leave it overnight in the fridge. The original recipe calls for at least 4 hours. When you are ready to serve, top with your favorite topping. Marshmallow fluff or whipped cream both taste great! Another yummy idea would be a caramel sauce layer under whipped cream.Because you put plastic wrap on the top you won’t have a very pretty top. However, the plastic wrap will keep a skin from forming on the pie. You probably want to cover the whole top so you can get a gorgeous dessert in addition to a yummy one.
Source:Adapted from: "Sweet: Our Best Cupcakes, Cookies, Candy, and More - Editors of Food Network Magazine"
I love French Silk Pie! Since I went gluten free I haven’t been able to eat it though. I finally decided it was time to figure out a gluten free version of this pie. I don’t typically enjoy traditional pie crust so I’ve changed the recipe to a graham cracker crust. I think this makes the pie so much better overall. For this specific recipe I’ve used a chocolate crust. It will work with either chocolate or vanilla crust. You can either purchase a gluten free graham crust or make one of your own.The original recipe calls for chopped chocolate, however I never seem to have this on hand. I substitute with chocolate chips. I haven’t noticed a difference in the consistency of the finished product so I don’t see any issue in this substitution.Whipped cream or even cool whip makes an excellent topping for this pie. I’ve also put marshmallow fluff on the top. These are all delicious options for topping on this pie.[amd-yrecipe-recipe:143]Source: Adapted from- “Sweet: Our Best Cupcakes, Cookies, Candy, and More – Editors of Food Network Magazine”