Chocolate caramel hazelnut pie

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.01
  
       Title: Chocolate Caramel Hazelnut Pie
  Categories: Pies
       Yield: 8 servings
  
       1    Prebaked 9" pie shell
 
 MMMMM--------------------------FILLING-------------------------------
   1 1/2 c  Sugar
     1/2 c  Water
     1/2 c  Unsalted butter, cut into
            -pieces
       1 cn Evaporated milk (5 oz)
       2 oz Unsweetened chocolate,
            -chopped
       2 c  Hazelnuts or filberts,
            -skinned and coarsely
            -chopped
 
 MMMMM--------------------OPTIONAL DECORATION-------------------------
       8    Whole hazelnuts, skinned
      24    Sliced almonds
  
   From "The Artful Pie", Lisa Cherasky & Renee Comet (Chapters
   Publishing).
   
   Filling preparation: First, prepare the pie shell. Then, in a large,
   heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir together the sugar and water. Set the
   saucepan over medium-high heat. Let the sugar mixture come to a boil
   and continue to cook until it caramelizes. Do not stir the sugar as
   it cooks. If it caramelizes unevenly, you can move it around by
   swirling it in the pan. When the sugar is a rich golden brown, remove
   it from heat and stir in the butter and evaporated milk gradually,
   mixing well with a wooden spoon until smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes
   and stir in the chocolate. Beat with a whisk until very smooth. Set
   the filling aside to cool for 10-15 minutes and then stir in the
   nuts. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 475'F.
   
   Assembly and baking: Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake for
   10 minutes, until the edge is very brown and the center is bubbling.
   Once the pie has cooled to room temperature, about 1 hour, decorate
   it, if desired, by making small flowers with the whole hazelnuts and
   sliced almonds.
   
   Makes one 9" single-crust pie.
  
 MMMMM