Palmabella's Passions

I'm really missing my little buddy. Ego spent much of his time in the kitchen...under foot. I tripped over him at least once a day, or couldn't turn on the dishwasher or get into a drawer or cabinet he was blocking.

To help me deal with my grief, I threw myself into lots of cooking and baking on Ego's last days. In his honor, I named this "Sweet Ego Pie" (sweet and a little nutty).

1 recipe of Nutella gelato
1 recipe of Frangelico gelato
1 chocolate-hazelnut crust
1 jar fudge sauce

First, I made a batch of Nutella gelato, and a batch of Frangelico gelato.

8 egg yolks
2 c. heavy cream
1 c. milk
3/4 c. sugar
2 t. vanilla
1/3 c. Frangelico liquor

Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl. In a medium saucepan, heat cream, milk, and sugar until almost a boil. Pour half the hot cream mixture into the yolks, then return it to the saucepan with the remaining cream and whisk over medium heat. Continue whisking for about 7-8 minutes until mixture thickens and coats a spoon. Remove from heat. Whisk in vanilla and Frangelico. Chill until very cold, and process custard in your ice cream maker. Store in a container in the freezer.

Crust:

Combine with a fork:
1 1/2 c. chocolate cookie crumbs
1/2 cup of ground, toasted hazelnuts
2 T. sugar
6 T. melted butter

Press evenly into sides and bottom of a 9" glass pie pan. Bake at 350 for 9 minutes.
Cool completely.

Set out Frangelico gelato for about 10 minutes to soften. spread half way up sides and along bottom of crust. Freeze for at least 1 hour. Top with fudge. Freeze for another hour. Fill with softened Nutella gelato. Freeze for an hour. Before serving, drizzle with fudge sauce, and chopped, toasted hazelnuts.