Pecan pie is a true favourite of mine, the depth of flavour in the nutty rich filling wrapped up in buttery, flaky pastry. Nothing can beat it. Pecans are grown in the southern states of America and where a staple part of the Native American diet, as they found them as a great source of protein. It is said that Native Americans introduced pecans to the French settlers, who transformed the nut into the beautiful tart we know today. Interestingly the name pecan comes from the Algonquin word for ‘hard to crack’, as pecans have very strong shells that are notoriously hard to get into! Fortunately, you won’t need to crack the shells off pecans to make this recipe, super easy and absolutely delicious, be sure to give it a go.
Makes: 1 medium size pie
Cook time: 40 minutes
Prep time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
50g butter
2 eggs and 1 egg yolk
120ml golden syrup
120ml maple syrup
210g pecans
100g brown sugar
300g pre-made shortcrust pastry
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line an 8 inch cake or pie tin.
- Roll out your pastry to around 3mm thick, gently transfer it to the tin, cut of the excess. Take a fork and make gentle imprints all over the base this will prevent your pastry rising when you blind bake it, place a square of greaseproof over the pastry and fill with baking beans or pasta.
- Place your tart crust into the oven for 15 minutes.
- Roughly chop 150g of your pecans. The next stage is optional, but I recommend lightly toasting your pecans for extra flavour. To do this place the pecans in a dry pan (without oil) cook on a medium heat stirring continuously until you can smell the aromas and they are light brown.
- In a large jug or bowl melt your butter and the add all the other ingredients (eggs, golden syrup, maple syrup, brown sugar, 170g toasted pecans).
- When your pastry has finished blind baking pour in the filling. Taking the remaining pecans place them gently on the surface creating an elegant ring patter.
- Return to the oven and bake for a further 30-40 minutes the pie should be set but wobble gently in the centre.
#Accessibility (image description: the image is taken from above; we can see whole pecans arranged in rings on the top of the pie with the filling glistening through the sides. The pastry is golden, and the image is set on a black background.)