Chocolate and Hazelnut Pie with Vanilla Cream

I hope you're ready for a treat. This pie is chocolate, rich and decadent. It's also easy to make. As with all things chocolate, the better the poison the better pie. Spring for the best chocolate you can get your hands on. If you can't get hazelnuts use toasted almonds or pecans instead. Toasting the nuts, whatever type you use, is important because it really does improve their flavor. When the pie is taken from the oven it has the crackle crust of a brownie, but it's texture is more like a cross between a chocolate mousse and a brownie. It's almost a confection. Delicious doesn't begin to describe how good this really is. The recipe was developed by Giada De Laurentis who is an admitted chocolate addict and she has taken no shortcuts here. While the pie is simple to make there is a fairly significant wait time before it can be served. By my estimate, it takes 20 minutes to make but needs 3 hours to cool and chill. I suspect you'll like this one - a lot.

Hazelnut and Chocolate Pie...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Pie:
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup hazelnuts, skinned and toasted
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more to dust the pie dish
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup hot water
4 eggs
1 stick butter, cut into 3/4-inch pieces, at room temperature, plus more to grease the pie dish
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Vanilla Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
1) Position an oven rack in lower 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
2) Put 1/2 of chocolate chips, hazelnuts, and flour in bowl of a food processor. Pulse until hazelnuts are coarsely chopped. Pour hazelnut mixture into a small bowl and set aside. Combine remaining chocolate chips and sugar in food processor. Blend until mixture is finely ground. With machine running, gradually add hot water until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Add eggs, butter, vanilla and cinnamon. Pulse until mixture is blended. Return hazelnut mixture to food processor and pulse to incorporate. Pour mixture into a buttered and floured 9-inch pie dish.
3) Bake for 35 minutes. Place pie on a cooling rack and cool for 1 hour. (Top may crack during cooling.) Refrigerate for 2 hours. (Pie can be made 1 day in advance and stored in the refrigerator). Allow pie to return to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
4) In a large mixing bowl, beat cream until it forms soft peaks. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Continue to beat until cream holds stiff peaks.
5) To serve, cut pie into slices and dollop with the vanilla cream. Yield: 8 servings.

This recipe is being linked to:
Designs By Gollum - Foodie Friday
My Toes are Claustrophobic