My best friend recently had a birthday. And, simply because I’m ME and she is SHE, I felt the need to bake her a special pie. A Strawberry Hazelnut Chocolate Silk Pie seemed to be appropriate this time. The strawberries are so fresh and bright, the chocolate and hazelnut combination is oh, so creamy and delicious, and the chocolate silk layer of dreams reminds me of her soul: bright, tender, and so sweet. She’s layered in decadence, as she should be. This pie is for her.

Just look at those layers.

Strawberry Hazelnut Chocolate Silk Pie

Crust:
2 oz. freeze dried strawberries
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
8 Tbs. ice cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 large egg
1 Tbs. vinegar
1-2 Tbs. ice water
4 oz. chopped hazelnuts

Pulse the strawberries in a food processor until they come into a fine powder. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse into a crumbly dough.
Transfer to a flour lined surface and roll out into a 9″ pie crust.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Transfer the crust into a pie plate.
Press the hazelnuts into the pie dough and bake for about 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Chocolate Silk Filling:
12 oz. Artisana Organics Hazelnut Cacao Spread
12 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy whipping cream
fresh strawberries

Once the crust has cooled, warm the Artisana Organics Hazelnut Cacao Spread and spread over the top of the nuts.
In a small pot over very low heat, melt the chocolate and stir in the cream, constantly stirring so as not to burn the chocolate.
Pour the chocolate silk over the top of the Hazelnut Cacao Spread layer.
Allow to cool and sit for several hours.
Garnish with freshly sliced strawberries.