White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie

By KatKD

Served this for Josh's birthday, 2013, as they trekked to Alaska.

Ingredients

• Ganache:
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Filling:
• 6 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy cream, plus 3/4 cup + 1 Splenda packet, whipped soft
• 6 1/2 (1-ounce) squares premium white baking chocolate, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/2 cup roasted, chopped macadamia nuts (if using unsalted, add just a tiny bit of sea salt)
• 1 pre-baked deep-dish (9-inch) pie shell (line shell with parchment and fill with weights when baking, bake at 350 for 15 min?)
• Garnish:
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar + 1 Splenda packet
• 1 to 2 ounces chopped macadamia nuts

Preparation

Step 1

Filling:
Beat cream cheese and sugar with a handheld electric mixer until smooth. Scrape bowl with a spatula and mix in 1/3 cup heavy cream. Add the melted white chocolate, zest, and nuts and stir just until incorporated. Fold in the whipped cream. Spread into pre-baked pie shell and level off using a rubber spatula. Put in freezer until frozen.

To finish pie, spread warm ganache over top of frozen pie, smoothing to the edges with a spatula.

Ganache:
Place chocolate chips in a metal mixing bowl. Bring cream to a simmer over medium heat. Pour simmering cream over chips and stir until melted. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.

Garnish:
Beat cream and confectioners' sugar with a handheld electric mixer to stiff peaks. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe edges of pie with whipped cream. Sprinkle macadamia nuts over top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.