| 1 | From "the artful pie", lisa cherasky & renee comet (chapters publishing). |
| 2 | Filling preparation: first, prepare the pie shell. |
| 3 | Then, in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir together the sugar and water. |
| 4 | Set the saucepan over medium-high heat. |
| 5 | Let the sugar mixture come to a boil and continue to cook until it caramelizes. |
| 6 | Do not stir the sugar as it cooks. |
| 7 | If it caramelizes unevenly, you can move it around by swirling it in the pan. |
| 8 | When the sugar is a rich golden brown, remove it from heat and stir in the butter and evaporated milk gradually, mixing well with a wooden spoon until smooth. |
| 9 | Let cool for 5 minutes and stir in the chocolate. |
| 10 | Beat with a whisk until very smooth. |
| 11 | Set the filling aside to cool for 10-15 minutes and then stir in the nuts. |
| 12 | Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 475°F. |
| 13 | Assembly and baking: pour the filling into the pie shell and bake for 10 minutes, until the edge is very brown and the center is bubbling. |
| 14 | Once the pie has cooled to room temperature, about 1 hour, decorate it, if desired, by making small flowers with the whole hazelnuts and sliced almonds. |
| 15 | Makes one 9" single-crust pie |
