White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie

I've been eyeing the recipe for Paula Dean's White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie for about six weeks because I love almost anything white chocolate wiht macadamia nuts (except those nasty, pre-packaged Mrs. Fields version. They're totally toxic). I'd been holding off until I was done with school and give it my full attention. That was this weekend and just happened to be early Sunday morning. Nothing beats melting chocolate over a jimmy-rigged double-boiler at 8am with a hot cup of steaming decaf at the ready.

Overall, I thought the result was pretty good. The recipe is ridiculously simple which makes it a no-brainer if you need to take a good pie somewhere for this summer. I quite possibly over-roasted the nuts but it didn't seem to matter much. As a big fan of white chocolate, I was a little disappointed in how much the flavor was subdued by the nuts and chocolate ganauche but overall, the pie is really good.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie
Ganache:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream

Garnish:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 ounces chopped macadamia nuts

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.

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, place the ganache in the microwave on low for no more than 10 seconds at a time. Stir after each warming, until ganache pours loosely but is not even close to boiling. Be very careful when warming chocolate, as it will burn very quickly when heated in the microwave. Once chocolate is scorched it is unusable. Spread warm ganache over top of frozen pie, smoothing to the edges with a spatula.

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.