We have two big reasons to be excited today. The first involves this week’s travel plans, and the second one is pie. On Friday morning, we’ll be packing our bathing suits, sunscreen, and snorkeling gear and heading to the British Virgin Islands with Ryan’s family. In less than seventy-two hours, we will be sitting on a gently rocking boat, sipping topical painkillers, sampling fresh fruit and local Caribbean cuisine, and exploring beautiful coral reefs near white sand beaches. We’ll be taking a week off from posting recipes here on the blog, but would love for you to join us as we sail the high seas, so follow along on snapchat (@husbandscook) and Instagram to see fun highlights from the trip. But before we say bon voyage, we’d like to leave you with a smooth, creamy, chocolatey dessert that might just change the way you look at pies forever. Say ahoy to nutella cream pie with a pretzel crust.

One of our favorite snacks is pretzels dipped into a jar of nutella. Okay, so maybe it’s not as nutritious as munching on carrots and hummus, but after a eating a healthy meal, you’re allowed to have a sweet treat. After finishing a light Japanese dinner the other night, we were feeling imaginative and decided to take our beloved snack to another level by transforming it into a pie. This turned out to be an extremely wise decision, as you will soon taste for yourself. Here, rich, silky nutella is combined with smooth mascarpone and a pinch of salt to make an ultra-creamy, extra-chocolatey, no-bake pie filling that comes together in just minutes. It rests in a crispy, buttery pretzel crust and is topped with vanilla whipped cream and dark chocolate shavings. The crunchy crust is a satisfying contrast to the velvety chocolate filling, while the whipped cream is just faintly sweet, decorating the pie with brilliant-white fluffy vanilla clouds. Served cool and easy to prepare, it makes a perfect dessert for summer, or anytime you crave a treat that’s a little salty and a little sweet.

This pie is a dream, and you are going to love how quickly it comes together. The crust, filling, and topping have just three ingredients each, and the nutella filling literally takes under a minute to make. For convenience you can use one bowl for everything–and a friendly reminder that the bowl is egg-free so you can lick it clean! Chilled until smooth and fudgy, and topped generously with dark chocolate shavings, this is one of the simplest deserts we know. Okay, back to packing our hats and sandals so you can start printing the recipe and checking your pantry for ingredients!

Nutella Cream Pie with a Pretzel Crust
makes one 9-inch pie, serves 8 to 10

For the crust:
155g (about 2 cups) pretzel crumbs, ground in a food processor
1/3 cup (66g) granulated sugar
10 tablespoons (142g) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
2 cups (583g) nutella
1 1/2 cups (338g) mascarpone
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the whipped cream:
1 cup (237ml) heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
a block of dark chocolate, to make shavings

Make the crust:
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Combine the pretzel crumbs and sugar in a mixing bowl, then add the butter. Stir until blended and evenly moistened, then transfer mixture to a pie dish. Press mixture evenly into the dish using the back of a spoon, making an even layer on the bottom and sides. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, then remove from oven and let cool completely. You can cool the crust in the fridge if necessary to speed things up.

Make the filling:
In a mixing bowl, combine the nutella, mascarpone, and salt, and blend using an electric mixer until light and creamy. Pour into the cooled crust, and spread evenly. Cover with plastic, and chill for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

Make the whipped cream and assemble pie:
Place a mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for a few minutes to chill them. Once they are cold, add the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla to the mixing bowl. Beat until it almost holds stiff peaks when the beaters are lifted. Spread the whipped cream on top of the chilled pie. Use a vegetable peeler to make chocolate shavings from a block of chocolate, then scatter the shavings over the whipped cream. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve, and enjoy!

note:
— You can use the same mixing bowl to prepare the crust, filling, and whipped cream, just be sure to clean it out between each step.