French Silk Pie Bars

I’ve seen many mentions of and recipes for “French Silk Pie” in cookbooks and online over the years and never really gave it much thought. After all, I have a chocolate cream pie made of melted candy bars in my recipe vault handed down from a family member that’s a crowd pleaser and super easy to make. So, what led me to make French Silk Pie Bars? It all started a few months back when I posted my Brown Sugar Cookies followed by Neapolitan cookies, both from Sarah Kiefer’s 100 Cookies book. With so many cookies in the cookiesphere, I proposed the idea of making a new cookie each month and asked for requests. In response, my friend Nancy suggested Cookie #63 - French Silk Pie Bars. (What?! A cookie that involves pie crust?) Being easily distracted, sadly I did not follow through on making a new cookie in June or developing a list. (Please send me your requests now!) But I’m happy to report that I’m back on track (barely). Thanks to Nancy’s visit on July 29, I snuck in the French Silk Pie Bars as the July cookie. 

At the suggestion of these smooth-as-silk chocolate cream bars, I started wondering what makes a cookie a cookie. I’m not sure “pie crust” is part of a cookie, making it debatable whether these are actually “cookies.” But then again, do lemon bars count as a cookie? What about brownies and other crumble or, ahem, pie bars? Sarah says her book includes: classic cookies, novel treats, brownies, bars and more. She actually puts them in “The Next Level” chapter. As in fancier than your average cookie. In fact, I’m secretly naming these Fancy Nancy cookies. In my book (if I had a book), French Silk Pie Bars fall into the “more” category. They are more than a cookie and more than a bar. They are definitely more complicated than your mix, roll and bake traditional cookies. And after one bite, you’ll want more.

French Silk Pie Bars 

Making these can be broken down into several steps of which the first two can be done up to a day before.

Step #1 – The pie crust

Sarah’s recipe for her pie dough base was very simple and turned out oh so flaky. I’m definitely keeping this recipe oh hand. The amounts listed in the single pie dough base on page 278 in her book make enough for one 9x13-inch crust. However, a little confusing, it’s not exactly half of her online all-butter pie crust recipe, which makes two 9x13 crusts. You could make the double recipe at the link and then freeze the other half. I just rolled it out to a slightly larger than a 9x13-inch size and trimmed the edges. Then I wrapped it around a lightly floured rolling pin and dropped it into my 9x13 glass pan. The dough went up the edges slightly, but I was fine with that. Fill it with pie weights before baking at 375° F for 20-28 minutes. Watch it carefully so it doesn’t get too brown. Once cool, cover and place in fridge if not using right away.

A slight aside. I’m not sure why I don’t own a metal 9x13. When we went to slice the pie, I wished my pan had the straight sides and corners like this Williams Sonoma Goldtouch one delivers. A game changer according to Nancy. Read the pie pan debate and decide for yourself.

Step #2: The chocolate

The recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate. Bittersweet can hover at 70 percent cacao but Ghirardelli’s bittersweet is labeled 60 percent – which is the same as most semisweet. I stood in the baking aisle at the grocery store way too long trying to decide which one to buy. Bottomline, bittersweet and semisweet are basically the same thing.  I bought two 4 oz. bittersweet bars. Note that the recipe calls for 7 oz, leaving you with 1 oz, but you’ll need more than that to decorate the bars. Don’t use anything over 70 percent for the filling. For more on types of baking chocolate see here.

To make the filling, chop your chocolate of choice and melt thoroughly in a heatproof bowl or double boiler over simmering water. Set aside to cool.

Step #3: The eggs

Traditional French silk pie is made with raw eggs, which, let’s admit, gives some of us the eebie geebies. Good news is that this recipe has you mix four eggs with granulated and brown sugars, salt and water over a saucepan of boiling water stirring until it reaches a temperature of 160° F. This will basically pasteurize the eggs. If you have a stand mixer, use the stainless-steel bowl that comes with that and scrape down the sides as you stir with a spatula. You don’t want the eggs to actually cook. (I may have had to fish out a few bits of cooked egg white from my mixture, but no harm, no fowl 🐓!!) This is why, as Sarah states, you need to be careful to not let your bowl actually touch the water. Lesson learned. Then you put the bowl right on your stand mixer and whisk on high speed for 8-10 minutes until light and fluffy. I love this part. Whisk, whisk, whisk.

To this mixture you add the melted chocolate, vanilla and a stick of butter. I made this part the morning that company was coming and placed in fridge.

Step #4: The cream - part 1

I kept reading the recipe to make sure I understood that cream was going to be incorporated “into” the chocolate mixture. And MORE cream was going to be whipped a second time for the topping. Hence parts 1 and 2.

Whip the first batch of cream (1/2 cup heavy 36% cream) until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Because the chocolate mixture is cold, it takes a little work to get the stirring started. But it will eventually start mixing more easily. Stir until completely combined and set aside.

Step #5: The cream - part 2

The topping for the pie bars is a mixture of 2 cups heavy cream and 4 oz. softened cream cheese, 2 Tbs sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and a pinch of salt. I hesitated here on the cream cheese. I wanted to use mascarpone because I love it. But as my sister says, always make the recipe according to the directions the first time, then you can modify after that. A rule that I don’t always follow. Turns out it was the right decision. The tanginess of the cream cheese offset the sweetness of the pie for a perfect combination. But next time I’m trying mascarpone.

Step #6: The assembly

Spread the chocolate mixture onto the pie crust base and level it with an offset spatula. Then top with the whipped cream mixture. Place back in fridge to set for at least an hour. Several hours is better.

Step #7: Decorating and serving

I chose to decorate with chocolate just prior to serving. I used the rest of my Ghirardelli bittersweet plus more I had in the pantry. Using a chef’s knife, I chopped it along the short edge to create approximately 2-inch shavings. A serrated knife works well on a really thick bar like the Pound Plus bar from Trader Joe’s that’s on my list to buy. You could also make curls, grate your chocolate, whatever you desire. When ready to serve, I found it easier to cut into nice clean squares by removing the “pie” from its plate. To do this, I used a big metal spatula meant for grilling to lift the pie out of the dish onto a wood cutting board. Then with a large chef’s knife I cut the pie across the width of the pie into squares. Clean your knife between cuts so you don’t get chocolate on your whip cream. Then put a few chocolate shavings on each piece before plating. 

Finally. The eating.

Nancy and I didn’t bother to sit down. We stood at the counter in anticipation and savored the tangy whipped cream and silky smooth chocolate filling atop that flaky pie crust.

One bite in and we agreed this was no ordinary cookie. The bar had been set!