Nutella Pie

This is a sponsored post, all thoughts and opinions are my own

Nutella Pie. It’s everywhere in Italy, and for good reason, it’s amazing. In Italy, they call it gianduja and everywhere you go bakeries sell pies that are filled with a delicious chocolate hazelnut filling that is creamy and rich.

Gianduja was created by Michele Prochet, a native of Turin, his city was under a British blockade that blocked access to having enough chocolate so he had to spread his chocolate by using hazelnuts. Little did this chocolatier know that he would be changing the chocolate spread game forever. Nutella itself was originally called pasta gianduja, it was invented in 1946 by Pietro Ferrero who would also become famous for making one of the world’s most delectible chocolate confections, the Ferrero Rocher. Nutella would become an instant sensation after his son would revamp his “pasta gianduja” by making the product creamier and calling it supercrema. Now Nutella is one of the most popular spreads in the world, especially overseas in Europe, where it’s present at every breakfast table throughout the continent (most of the time).

Nutella for me is somewhat of a new thing, I had never had it growing up and didn’t really know too much about it until I was an adult. My wife is crazy about it so I’ve become fully aware of it and all its glory since then.

When I walked around Italy, all I ever wanted to do was to consume these delicious Nutella pies. The other thing I wanted to do was figure out how to make these delicious creations. Unfortunately, the internet is not filled with recipes to create the Nutella pies that I tried in Italy. Most of the recipes online are for some sort of no-bake Nutella cheesecake hybrid, while that may be delicious, that is not what I was looking for. I wanted to make a pie that was almost pure Nutella and chocolate, no other ingredients.

Luckily I was able to find one recipe that sort of looked the part. Now this recipe calls for a lot of butter and it sure seemed like it was a tad much since oil seemed to sit at the top of the pie (I had to drain it out. So I modified this recipe, the butter is really just for the chocolate ganache anyways so I think you’ll be okay. I made this for a live TV segment and it was a HIT. The news anchor who was speaking to me lost his mind and took another slice back with him. Then the entire TV crew came in and just annihilated this pie so that I had none left. This pie is super rich, so definitely have some coffee or milk with it.

I would make this one day in advance of when you want to serve it, that allows it to really set.

Recipe – Nutella Pie

Ingredients

Crust – One pre-made pie shell, obviously you can make your own or use unrolled pie dough. This was just simpler. I used Wholly Wholesome Pie Crust.

Filling

7 ounces of Nutella or Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

5 ounces of dark chocolate chunks

5 ounces of unsalted butter

1 large egg, lightly beaten

3 large yolks, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp. White Sugar

2 Tbsp. of toasted crushed hazelnuts

Method

Step 1 – Preheat your oven to  375^oF.

Step 2- On your pre-baked crust (don’t over bake your crust so it splits), spread the Nutella over the base so it makes a nice layer.

Step 3- Melt your butter and allow it cool so it’s just warm (Still liquid obviously)

Step 4- Melt the chocolate, be careful not to burn it, I used to a water bath.

Step 5 – Stir the egg into the melted chocolate, don’t beat it so much so that it becomes airy, you want this to be dense. Then stir in the yolks, and then the sugar. Once you’ve done then add your butter and stir for a good bit. At first it’s going to look chunky and not smooth, but eventually it will become smooth.

Step 6- Pour the filling over the ganache and then bake in the oven for about 10 to 11 minutes. Sprinkle on the nuts and allow it to cool in the fridge for at least 6 hours, better overnight.

Enjoy!