This recipe was born one day while I was going to make a French silk pie for dessert while having some friends over. I was rummaging in my pantry for the ingredients, stumbled across the Nutella, thought… what if ? And the rest is truly history. This pie was meant to be. And I can attest to that fact because I nailed it on the first try and that’s literally never happened. So while I’d like to say I’ve tweaked and tuned this recipe 100 times, I haven’t. But you just don’t need to when it’s already perfect, you know?

You’ll notice I don’t specifically mention any smooth chocolate spread that’s spreadable at room temperature will do. I just saw Bonne Maman came out with a spread, Trader Joe’s has one, and there are plenty of nut free options. All will work! But I am using Nutella here.

This pie is simple. It’s flavors are nothing extraordinary, but eating it really feels like something special. It’s full of unctuous ingredients like dark chocolate, butter, and chocolate spread. But you whip much air into it and top it with pillowy whipped cream and that somehow makes it feel light. It takes a little time and finesse but it’s definitely doable if you’re a medium to intermediate baker. Use whichever pie crust you like - my photos have store bought. Emily McDowell’s from The Book on Pie are my personal favorite when I have the extra time to make homemade.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Pie

Makes 1 - 9 inch Pie

Ingredients:

1 9-inch Pie Crust - Blind Baked and Cooled. A deep dish pan is not suitable for this recipe.

1/3 Cup Nutella or comparable chocolate spread

1/3 Cup Granulated sugar

3 Eggs, thoroughly whisked

4 oz 70% Dark Chocolate, chopped.

1o Tbsp Butter, at room temperature

4 oz Heavy Whipping Cream

2 Tbsp Powdered Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla

Pinch of Salt

Garnish:

1/3 Cup roasted, unsalted Hazelnuts - coarsely chopped

Dark Chocolate shavings

Steps:

In the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, whip the 10Tbsp of butter on high for 2-3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed, until noticeably light in color and fluffy in texture. Set aside.
In a cold saucepan, combine the Nutella, sugar, and eggs. Whisk thoroughly until combined with heat off. Once combined, turn heat onto medium and whisk constantly over heat until the mixture reaches 160° Fahrenheit. Once it reaches 160° Fahrenheit, turn off the heat and stir in all of the chopped dark chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside for 5-10 minutes, off the burner, allowing the mixture to cool to 90-95° Fahrenheit. The mixture should be very smooth. If any lumps remain, pour through a fine mesh sieve before the next step.
Once cool, combine the chocolate muxture with the whipped butter and whip on medium high for 3-5 minutes, scraping the bowl as necessary, until thoroughly combined and uniform in color. After 3-5 minutes, it should be smooth and noticeably lighter in color.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust, smoothing it and pushing to the edges. Allow the pie to set in the refrigerator for at least two hours, up to overnight.
Once the pie is cool, whip the cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt to stiff peaks. Spread over the top of the pie either with a spatula or decorate with a piping bag.
Top with desired garnish like chopped hazelnuts or chocolate shavings.
Enjoy! Stores well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 2 days.