This french silk chocolate cake features a super moist chocolate cake topped with french silk pie and fresh vanilla whipped cream.
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french silk chocolate cake
Hello hello! Today we’re combining two very delicious and chocolatey desserts: chocolate cake and french silk pie. It starts with a super moist and chocolatey chocolate cake base, which we’ll top with a rich and creamy french silk pie filling and fresh vanilla whipped cream. It’s super easy to make, it will just take a little bit of time with the two components, but the only thing special you’ll need is a 7″ springform pan – you can find the one I used here. So let’s get into it! 🙂
why you’ll love this french silk chocolate cake:
- It’s super moist and chocolatey: sour cream and a lot of milk helps keep this cake super moist, and dutch cocoa powder helps make it *extra* chocolatey.
- French silk pie: I don’t know about you, but I’ll take french silk pie over chocolate frosting on my chocolate cake any day of the week.
- It’s super thick: you’ll definitely want to make sure you have a 7″ springform that’s 3″ tall because we’re using the entirety of the pan for this cake.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
How to make your chocolate more chocolatey:
The secret to getting more chocolate flavor into your chocolate cake? Bloom your cocoa powder! Blooming your cocoa powder just means that you’re mixing the cocoa with a hot liquid. Here we’re using hot milk to both bloom the cocoa and add moisture into the cake. Adding in the hot milk releases the cocoa powder particles from a very thin membrane on them, exposing cocoa solids and bringing out more flavor. It’s truly such a simple way to add more chocolate flavor into your bakes, and makes it easier for the cocoa to incorporate into the batter.
Be careful when mixing the cake batter:
When you over-mix your batter, you create more gluten in the batter which will make your cake go from light and moist to dense and chewy. When you’re mixing in the dry ingredients, be sure that you only mix *just until* that last streak of flour disappears into the batter.
Use room temperature ingredients:
This is super important for allowing the batter to come together smoothly. You’ll want to take your ingredients out of the fridge about an hour before baking to allow them enough time to come to room temperature.
Keep a close eye on the cake while it bakes:
Cakes and cupcakes like to go from under-baked to over-baked super quickly so it is important to keep a close eye on them. I’d recommend that you start checking on the cake around 25 minutes.
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for french silk chocolate cake:
chocolate cake:
- All purpose flour: the structure of the cake.
- Baking powder: for leavening and giving that “cakey” texture.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness
- Dutch process cocoa powder: gives the cake a deep, rich chocolate flavor. I wouldn’t recommend using natural unsweetened cocoa here, but you could use black cocoa powder for an even richer flavor.
- Whole milk: for moisture in the cake and for blooming the cocoa powder.
- Instant espresso: optional, but recommended to help bring out the chocolate flavor in the cake.
- Vegetable oil: tenderizes the cake. Any neutral oil, such as canola, will also work here.
- Granulated sugar: sweetens the cake and helps lock in the moisture.
- Egg: contributes moisture to the cake and helps bind the batter together
- Sour cream: tenderizes and adds moisture to the cake. I recommend using full-fat sour cream for the best texture.
french silk pie filling:
- Eggs: Make the filling custardy, thick, and rich.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetening the filling.
- Semi-sweet chocolate baking bars: You’ll want to make sure you’re using a high-quality chocolate baking bar here and not chocolate chips – which have less flavor and additives that can mess with the texture of the filling.
- Unsalted butter: for richness and flavor. You can use salted butter in it’s place (just be sure to omit the extra salt.)
- Salt: for flavor – never skip on the salt!
- Heavy whipping cream: for lightening up the filling.
whipped cream:
- Heavy whipping cream: the base of the whipped cream.
- Granulated sugar: just a bit of sugar to sweeten up the cream a little.
- Vanilla bean paste: or vanilla extract, for flavor
- Salt: to balance the sweetness of the whipped cream.
how to make french silk chocolate cake
Below are some images of what the cake looks like at various points of the process. You can find the full recipe at the end of the blog post!
- Mix together the cocoa powder, instant espresso (if using), and hot milk.
- Then whisk in the remaining wet ingredients.
- Mix in the dry ingredients just until no streaks of flour remain, then bake.
- While the cake cools, make the french silk pie filling. Start by cooking the eggs and sugar together, then mix in the chocolate.
- Beat together the butter and salt, then slowly beat in the chocolate mixture.
- Gently fold whipped cream into the mixture.
- Top the cooled chocolate cake with the french silk pie filling, then place it in the fridge to firm up.
- Top the cake with whipped cream and chocolate shavings, then slice, serve, and enjoy!
french silk chocolate cake recipe q&a
do I need to use instant espresso?
I highly recommend using instant espresso because it helps bring out more of the flavor from the cocoa powder, but you can omit it if you’d like. You could also use instant coffee instead of instant espresso if that’s what you have on hand.
Help! My cake is dry / over-baked
If your cake turned out a tad dry, you can brush some milk on to the cake to help make it a bit more moist again.
Can I bake this cake in a different sized pan?
You could bake this in an 8″ springform pan, just note that your layers will be a tad shorter.
can I make this cake ahead of time?
Definitely! You can bake the cake up to two days in advance and keep it stored in an airtight container at room temperature. I would recommend waiting to fill the cake with the pudding until the day you want to serve it, so you don’t have to keep it stored in the fridge where it will dry out faster.
how to store french silk chocolate cake
Once you fill the cake, you’ll want to keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge, where it will keep well for about 3 days.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
French Silk Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 30 g dutch process cocoa powder (¼ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 1 tsp. instant espresso
- 65 g whole milk (¼ c. + ½ tbsp.)
- 75 g vegetable oil (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 100 g granulated sugar (½ c.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 90 g sour cream (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.) room temperature
- 80 g all purpose flour (⅔ c.)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
French Silk Pie
- 2 eggs
- 125 g granulated sugar (½ c.+ 2 tbsp.)
- 113 g semi-sweet chocolate baking bar (4 oz.)
- 85 g unsalted butter room temperature (6 tbsp.)
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 110 g heavy whipping cream (½ c.)
Whipped Cream
- 170 g heavy whipping cream (¾ c.)
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ⅛ tsp. salt
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Butter a 7" springform pan then coat the inside with sugar.
- Add the cocoa powder and instant espresso (if using) to a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Heat the milk in a large microwave safe bowl or liquid measuring cup until it's hot and starts to foam up (you'll want it to be larger bowl/cup to avoid the milk spilling over into your microwave)
- Immediately pour the hot milk over the cocoa powder. Stir the mixture together until it's cohesive and there's no lumps.
- Add in the vegetable oil, sugar, egg, and sour cream. Whisk vigorously until combined.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until the last streak of flour disappears.
- Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. To check for doneness: I recommend using a thermometer for the best results: when stuck into the middle of the cake the thermometer should read 205°F / 96°C. The cake is also done when the center no longer jiggles and the top becomes more firm.
- Allow the cake to rest in the cake pan for at least 15 minutes before transferring it out to a cooling rack. While the cake is cooling, make the french silk pie filling.
French Silk Pie
- Finely chop up the chocolate and set it aside.
- Add the eggs and sugar to a medium sized saucepan. Set the mixture over medium heat, and vigourously whisk the mixture until it reaches a temperature of 170℉ / 76℃.
- Remove the mixture from the heat, and immediately stir in the chocolate. Stir until the mixture is cohesive, then set it aside to cool for at least 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, whip up the whipped cream. Add the heavy whipping cream to a medium sized mixing bowl. Beat the mixture with a hand or stand mixer until it reaches stiff peaks. Set aside in the fridge.
- Add the butter and salt to a medium sized mixing bowl. With a hand or stand mixer, beat the butter and salt for 3-4 minutes, until it's light and fluffy.
- With the mixer running, start adding in big dollops of the chocolate egg mixture, mixing until combined before adding in the next. Once all of the chocolate has been incorporated, beat the mixture for an additional 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Add in the whipped cream and very gently fold it into the chocolate mixture.
- Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, slice a thin layer off of the top of the cake to make it a flat layer.
- Line the springform pan you baked the cake in with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Set the cake back into the pan, then top it with the french silk pie filling.
- Cover the cake with plastic wrap and set it in the fridge for at least two hours to allow time for the pie filling to set up. Once you're ready to serve the cake, make the whipped cream.
Whipped Cream
- Add the heavy cream, sugar, vanilla and salt to a medium sized mixing bowl (or to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.) Beat the mixture until soft peaks form.
- Remove the cake from the springform pan, top it with the whipped cream and chocolate curls, then slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
I just made this for my grandpa’s birthday, and it was a hit! One of the best cakes i’ve ever made. Only adjustment I made was leaving the salt out of the french silk and whipped cream parts. Sooo good it’s insane!
This was one of the best cakes I’ve even made and I love to bake.
Ah thank you so much Jen, I’m so happy you liked it!