Winter has come to an end, but I can’t say it feels like spring here in Quebec yet. My birthday is in 2 days, and every year I secretly wish for the snow to be gone, but my wish has yet to be granted! Yesterday felt like the middle of January, with snow, wind, and so much cold.

My relationship with my country has always been a mix of love and hate. Canada is such an amazing place to live for so many reasons, but when I started to travel years ago, I discovered other realities. Other cultures, architecture, food, history… and weather. It was sort of a curse for me. Like if I had never realized before that not every human on this planet had to endure a harsh, never-ending winter. And when I realized that, it kinda hit me hard. I always knew winter was NOT my thing, but my brain thought I had no choice. Then, I saw other possibilities… and winters became even harder.

That being said, as with anything else in life, when winter comes, I try to see the positive things about it and focus on them as much as I humanly can. And one of those things is that we Canadians probably appreciate spring more than most people. We wait for it like crazy.

As a food photographer, I always see other photographers starting to incorporate beautiful blooming flowers into their pictures in February and March. I have to wait until the end of May, even the beginning of June to be able to do that. So I’m over the moon when my turn comes! Who knows, maybe one day I’ll move somewhere where the sun shines a lot more than here… but for now, I’ll at least enjoy this amazing chocolate pie! I thought this recipe was appropriate since it’s almost my birthday.

And believe me, this pie is beyond creamy, rich, and just delicious! I was not expecting that much when I made it. It seriously became my favorite pie ever. If you don’t have both, you can use only almonds or only pecans for the crust. Enjoy!