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This French Silk Slab Pie is chocolatey, rich and so delicious. Making it in slab form allow you to serve a crowd, so it’s perfect for any party.
For more pie recipes, check out the Strawberry Banana Pudding Pie, this Easy Blueberry Pie with Goat Cheese, and this Banana Cream Pie with Chocolate Ganache.
French Silk Slab Pie
Thanksgiving may be the king of all pie holidays, but there’s something about spring and summer that makes me crave pie even more than I do during the holidays. Granted, pumpkin and pecan pie are the furthest things from my mind, but coconut cream, strawberry and French silk?? Give me a fork, and watch every single crumb disappear.
Unlike this peanut butter French silk pie or this pumpkin coconut cream pie, there is nothing fancy or unpredictable about this particular recipe, it’s just a damn good French silk pie, in slab form. It’s not as dense as some French silk pies out there because of the whipped cream folded in to the chocolate, butter and egg mixture, but it’s still every bit as rich.
I also love, that because it’s in slab form, the pieces aren’t giant, so you don’t have to feel as guilty about eating it.
What is slab pie?
Slab pie is just a pie in sheet pan form. It’s a not as thick as a typical pie, and is cut into squares and not the typical pie triangle. I love it because it feeds a large crowd, and is a heck of a lot easier to divvy up.
I’m not going to sugar coat it for you, between the homemade pie crust and the rich chocolate filling, there is an ungodly amount of butter and sugar woven throughout the recipe. So I did something I normally wouldn’t do, and used store-bought whipped topping instead of freshly whipped cream – an ingredient I’ll only recommend using unless I’m confident it won’t completely demoralize the inherent flavor. If it’s against your religion to do this, I completely understand, and you are more than free to sub out real whipped cream instead.
The perfect flaky pastry crust.
Normally I have no shame in purchasing a pre-made dough, but when I’m eating French silk pie, I want everything to be perfect, and for me, that means flaky homemade crust. I’ve talked a little bit about pastry crusts, and I am certainly no expert, but I believe the best crusts come from a mixture of shortening and butter.
The butter adds flavor, and the shortening creates a flaky, light dough. I love the combination of the two, because you get the best of both worlds.
As always you, want to make sure your butter is VERY cold before adding it to the mixture. The shortening, however, does not need to be cold. Just work quickly, and try to mess with the dough as little as possibly.
I also like to chill the dough for a little white before rolling it out, just to ensure it stays nice and flaky.
How to make French Silk Pie
- In a microwave safe liquid measuring cup or small bowl, add chocolate. Microwave in 25 second increments, stirring in between each interval, until chocolate is almost melted. Once chocolate has just a few whole pieces left, stir until completely melted. (The heat of the bowl will finish melting the chocolate). Set aside.
- In a medium sauce pan, whisk sugar and eggs together. Turn the heat on low, and stirring almost constantly heat the mixture up until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch and coats the back of a spoon, about five minutes. Remove from the heat and add chocolate. Stir until combined. Set aside and cool to room temperature. (I pop the whole pan in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process, and stir every 3-4 minutes until it’s cool.
- In a medium bowl, cream butter with hand held mixer or in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Cream until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the chocolate and egg mixture, beat on high speed until thick, about 2-3 minutes.
- Fold in 1 cup of the whipped cream.
- Spread on to the cooled pie crust and place in the fridge until cool and set, about 1-2 hours.
- Spread remaining whipped topping over chocolate filling.
- Garnish with mini chocolate chips or chocolate
Substitutions and Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success
- Be sure to use cold butter when making your crust!
For more perfect summer pie recipe, check out these posts!
Banana Cream Pie with Chocolate Ganache – Cooking for Keeps
Chocolate Chip Pie – The Food Charlatan
Coconut Cream Pie – Baker By Nature
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 7 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon ice cold vodka
- 6-7 tablespoons ice cold water
- 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, plus more for garnish
- 4 eggs
- 1 + ¼ cups sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 8 oz. whipped topping, divided
- Mini chocolate chips for garnish
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a half sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a bowl combine flour, salt and sugar.
- Add in vegetable shortening and butter. Use a pastry cutter to blend the fat in to the flour mixture Once there are several small chunks left, but the majority is blended in, stop.
- Start by adding in 6 tablespoons of cold water and the vodka in to the dough, gently use a fork to mix at the same time. Continue to use the fork to mix. Once the dough is shaggy, but comes together when you press a ball of it together, the dough it done. If it still falls apart, add another tablespoon of ice water.
- Gently knead the dough just until it comes together. Form into a flat circle and chill for 30 minutes.
- When dough is ready, roll out to the size of your sheet pan, making sure the excess goes over the edge. Place dough gently in pan, cut off excess and crimp.
- Put a greased piece of foil over dough and cover with dry beans.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes until slightly golden brown. Cool completely before adding filling.
- In a microwave safe liquid measuring cup or small bowl, add chocolate. Microwave in 25 second increments, stirring in between each interval, until chocolate is almost melted. Once chocolate has just a few whole pieces left, stir until completely melted. (The heat of the bowl will finish melting the chocolate). Set aside.
- In a medium sauce pan, whisk sugar and eggs together. Turn the heat on low, and stirring almost constantly heat the mixture up until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch and coats the back of a spoon, about five minutes. Remove from the heat and add chocolate. Stir until combined. Set aside and cool to room temperature. (I pop the whole pan in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process, and stir every 3-4 minutes until it's cool.
- In a medium bowl, cream butter with hand held mixer or in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Cream until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the chocolate and egg mixture, beat on high speed until thick, about 2-3 minutes. Fold in 1 cup of the whipped cream.
- Spread on to the cooled pie crust and place in the fridge until cool and set, about 1-2 hours. Spread remaining whipped topping over chocolate filling. Garnish with mini chocolate chips or chocolate.
cakespy says
THIS. This PIE. OMG. Seriously, that’s about where my vocabulary has gone in sight of its beauty. Bookmarked!
Stephanie says
What can I use instead of vodka?
Nicole says
You can leave it out!
Ruby says
Hi do you know the calorific value of this as a whole please.
Tricia says
What size pan did you use?
Nicole says
9×12
Lisa says
Can this be made with milk chocolate or would that throw off the flavor?
jeanni says
can this be made the night before?
Nicole says
Yes!