Chocolate Pie Shell:

In the bowl of a food processor, add 1 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour, 2 tbsp of granulated sugar, 2 tbsp Dutch process cocoa powder, and 1/2 tsp of salt. Pulse it a couple of times to mix the dry ingredients.

Add 1/2 a cup (1 stick) of cold unsalted butter that's been cut into pieces. Pulse this till the pieces of butter are the size of small peas. Add 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp of ice-cold water, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/2 tsp of white vinegar. Pulse till the mixture just comes together.

Transfer this mixture into a large mixing bowl. Knead the mixture into the bottom of the bowl with your hands until it forms a cohesive dough. Wrap this dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour, or 15 minutes in the freezer.

While the chocolate dough is resting in the fridge, cut a piece of parchment paper that is 15" by 15". Scrunch up the piece of parchment paper so there are a lot of creases on it, which makes it more moldable. Take a 9" round cake pan, and place the piece of parchment paper so that it covers and is molded against the bottom and sides of the pan as much as possible, folding the overhanging parchment paper over the outside edge of the pan.

Flour your clean counter, place your cold dough on the flour, and roll it into a 14-inch circle using a lightly floured rolling pin.

Gently fold it into quarters, transfer it into the prepared 9" cake pan lined with parchment paper, trim the excess dough that's overhanging over the rim of the cake pan with scissors or a sharp knife, so the edges of the dough are flush with the rim of the cake pan. Put the formed pie crust in the freezer for a minimum of 30 minutes. Save the trimmings of the dough and form them into a total of 15 to 20 balls. Place these chocolate balls in the freezer as well.

Place an oven rack in the lowest position, and preheat your oven to 400F (205C) for a minimum of 15 minutes. Line a small sheet pan with parchment paper and place the 15 to 20 chocolate balls on it. Bake on the lowest rack for 3 minutes. Take them out and let them cool to room temperature.

Place your frozen pie shell in the middle of a sheet pan or baking dish. Cut a round piece of parchment paper that has the edges cut into frays so that it folds into the pie shell easily. The parchment paper will prevent the foil from sticking to the crust.

On top of the parchment paper, place a double-layer of aluminum foil that is also circular in shape with the edges folded up, and press the edges of the foil against and over the edges of the pie crust, covering the chocolate pie completely. The double-layer of foil will help support the walls of the pie crust and prevent it from sagging during the par-baking process. Finally, place baking beans/weights on top of the foil and spread them out.

Par-bake your crust on the lowest rack at 400F (205C) for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes in the oven, take the chocolate pie crust out and carefully remove the foil (with baking beans/weights) and the parchment paper. Dock the bottom and sides of the pie crust with a fork to deflate any puffing up in the crust.

Return the pie crust to the oven and continue baking for another 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges and the center of the pie crust are done. Let the chocolate pie crust and chunky chocolate bits cool completely before using.

Salted-Caramel Walnut Filling:

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, add 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tbsp water. Do not stir the sugar. Just gently swirl the pan to make sure sugar is heating evenly.

Bring the sugar-water mixture to a boil until it turns into a copper/amber color. Be careful not let it get too dark, otherwise it will have a slightly bitter burnt flavor. Turn off the heat as soon as it turns light amber. It will continue to darken with residual heat.

Then while vigorously whisking, very slowly add in 1/3 cup of room temperature heavy cream, and vigorously whisk it in. Be careful of the hot steam from the initial addition of heavy cream. Adding the heavy cream very slowly will prevent the caramel from seizing up. But if the sugar does seize up into a solid ball, don't worry. Just keep whisking and it will melt again.

Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 teaspoon of salt, and turn on the heat to medium-low. Mix in the butter and continue whisking for 3 minutes.

Transfer to a medium-sized heat-proof bowl and let it cool to room temperature - about 30 to 40 minutes.

In a separate medium-sized mixing bowl, add in 2/3 cup of very cold heavy cream and 1 tbsp of granulated sugar. Beat this till you start to see soft peaks.

When the salted caramel has cooled to room temperature, fold in the whipped cream into the caramel mixture, one-third at a time, till it's smooth.

Take the chocolate pie shell and add in the salted-caramel filling, covering the base of the pie shell completely. Smooth out the top surface of the caramel filling as much as possible. Then evenly distribute 1/2 cup of roughly chopped walnuts on top, pressing them in gently so they are immersed in the caramel cream.

Place the pie in the fridge for the caramel filling to firm up - minimum of 30 minutes.

Chocolate Cream:

In a small mixing bowl, take the 4 egg yolks and beat it for 1-2 min till it is lemon yellow in color. Set aside.

Set up a water bath by placing a medium-sized heatproof (stainless steel or glass) mixing bowl over a pot of simmering water on medium-low heat. Add in 8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, which is about 1 and one-third cups of chocolate chips, and 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into six 1-tbsp cubes. Melt and mix them together until smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat.

While chocolate is still hot, mix in egg yolks, 1/4 tsp salt, and an optional 1 tbsp of light rum. Set this aside to cool till it is lukewarm.

In a separate mixing bowl, add in 1 cup of very cold heavy cream and 2 tbsp of granulated sugar. Beat this till you start to see soft peaks.

When chocolate has cooled to lukewarm, fold in the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, one-third at a time, till it's smooth.

When the caramel filling layer has firmed up, take the pie out of the fridge and add the 15 to 20 chunky chocolate bits randomly on top of the caramel filling. Then carefully add the chocolate cream on top of the caramel filling, covering up the chunky chocolate bits, bring the chocolate filling all the way to the edges of the pie shell, and smooth out the top surface of the chocolate cream as much as possible.

Immediately add 1/2 cup of roughly chopped walnuts on top of the chocolate cream, evenly distributing them over the top surface, pressing the walnuts into the chocolate cream a bit so they stick. Place the pie back into the fridge for the chocolate cream to firm up - about 30 minutes.

Chocolate Drizzle:

In a microwave-safe bowl, add in 1/4 cup of heavy cream and microwave for 45 seconds, till the heavy cream is steaming. Add in 2 oz, which is about 1/3 of a cup, of semi-sweet chocolate chips, into the hot heavy cream. Let it stand for 1 minute, then gently stir until the chocolate chips are completely melted and there are no lumps.

Let this chocolate ganache cool to lukewarm - about 5 to 10 minutes.

Transfer the lukewarm chocolate ganache into a disposable piping bag or Ziploc bag. Cut a small 3 mm hole at the tip. Drizzle chocolate over the pie in a zigzag pattern over the walnuts. Place the pie back in the fridge to let the chocolate drizzle firm up.

Whipped Cream:

In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat 4 oz cream cheese with a paddle attachment till it's slightly softened. Then add 1 3/4 cups of very cold heavy cream, and continue to beat till it's slightly thickened and the cream cheese has mixed in with the heavy cream.

Remove the paddle attachment, and scrape down the bowl and paddle attachment as needed. Then add in 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 2 tsp vanilla extract.

Then with a whisk attachment, continue whipping until the cream forms stiff peaks.

Attach a large open star tip to a piping bag, I like to use a #1M tip. Transfer your whipped cream into the piping bag and pipe big spiral mounds on the outer circumference of your pie.

Rest the pie in the fridge overnight for the layers to set. Store the pie in the fridge till you're ready to serve. Enjoy!

This pie can also be stored in the freezer and served semi-frozen, but it will have a different texture. We prefer our turtle pies refrigerated.