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French Silk Pie Cake Recipe

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4.5 from 484 reviews

French Silk Pie Cake is a decadent chocolate cake inspired by the classic French Silk Pie. It features moist, rich chocolate layers paired with a luscious, silky smooth French Silk frosting made from butter, sugar, melted chocolate, and eggs. The cake is elegantly assembled with piped frosting dollops and sprinkled with chocolate flakes, delivering a stunning and indulgent dessert perfect for chocolate lovers.

Ingredients

Scale

Chocolate Cake:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

French Silk Frosting:

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened but cool
  • 1 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar; granulated sugar can be used, not powdered sugar)
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 oz unsweetened Baker’s chocolate, melted and cooled completely
  • 3 large whole eggs (pasteurized), cold

Assembly:

  • Chocolate flakes or sprinkles for decoration

Instructions

  1. Prepare Cake Pans: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease two 8-inch round baking pans and dust them with cocoa powder to prevent sticking. Line the bottoms with parchment paper for easy removal.
  2. Mix Dry Ingredients: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the flour, granulated sugar, sifted Dutch-processed cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir briefly to combine the dry ingredients evenly.
  3. Mix Wet Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, buttermilk at room temperature, eggs, and vanilla extract. Slowly add the hot water while whisking continuously to avoid cooking the eggs.
  4. Combine Wet and Dry: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients in the stand mixer. Mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until well combined. The batter will be very thin, which is normal.
  5. Bake the Cake: Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Use a kitchen scale if desired for equal portions. Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
  6. Cool the Cakes: Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes. Then carefully remove them from the pans and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
  7. Make the French Silk Frosting: Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the softened but cool butter and caster sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed to ensure even mixing.
  8. Add Chocolate and Vanilla: Add the cooled, melted Baker’s chocolate and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Whip again until fully combined and smooth. Scrape the bowl as needed.
  9. Add Eggs: Switch to the whisk attachment. Add the cold pasteurized eggs one at a time, whipping for 5 minutes after each addition. Scrape the bowl thoroughly before adding each egg to ensure proper incorporation. The frosting will have a fairly runny consistency.
  10. Chill Frosting: Place the bowl with the whisk attachment into the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes, removing every 10 minutes to whip briefly. This helps to thicken and stabilize the frosting.
  11. Assemble the Cake: Place each cooled cake layer on a cake board or serving plate. Using a piping bag fitted with a French star tip, pipe dollops of frosting on top of each layer. Sprinkle generously with chocolate flakes or sprinkles.
  12. Final Touches: You can serve the two frosted cakes separately, or for a layered cake, chill both layers in the refrigerator for 1 hour, then carefully remove one cake from its board and stack it on top of the other for a classic layered presentation.

Notes

  • Use pasteurized eggs for the frosting to ensure safety as the eggs are raw.
  • Do not substitute powdered sugar for caster sugar in the frosting for texture and sweetness levels.
  • Ensure butter for the frosting is cool but soft to properly whip with sugar.
  • Batter will be very thin; this is normal due to the hot water.
  • If you do not have a kitchen scale, try to eyeball equal portions for even baking.
  • Chilling the frosting and whipping intermittently helps it develop the classic silky texture.
  • Chocolate flakes or sprinkles add a nice decorative touch and extra chocolate texture.
  • The cake layers can be made a day ahead and wrapped tightly for convenience.

Keywords: French Silk Pie Cake, Chocolate Cake, French Silk Frosting, Decadent Chocolate Cake, Moist Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Dessert

Find it online: https://www.cheftara.com/french-silk-pie-cake-recipe/