Deep-dish bourbon and maple pecan pie

No-one’s going to refuse a big slice of pie filled with a thick layer of gooey caramel studded with crunchy pecans. Since corn syrup is sometimes hard to come by outside of the US (which is usually what this dish uses), a mix of liquid glucose and golden syrup will do the trick just as well. I prefer to let the pie set in the refrigerator overnight to let the flavours develop, and the filling firms up for that ideal thick and gooey texture. You can serve the pie simply with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a (very large) dollop of whipped cream.

INGREDIENTS

4 eggs

265g liquid glucose

230g caster sugar

125ml maple syrup

90g golden syrup

80g unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons bourbon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

150g pecans

SWEET PASTRY

200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

125g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

30g caster sugar

pinch salt

TO SERVE

ice cream

or cream, whipped

METHOD

First, to make the sweet pastry, put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Then add 80 ml chilled water, a little at a time, and keep pulsing until it comes together to form a rough dough. Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and gently gather the loose crumbs together to form a soft dough, do not over-knead. Flatten the dough into a disc about 2 cm thick, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and place on a floured work surface. Roll out the pastry until it is big enough to line a 23 cm loose-based tart tin, about 5 mm thick. Gently pick up one end of the pastry and roll onto the rolling pin, then drape the pastry over the tart tin. Line the base and side of the tin with the pastry. The height of the pastry should be 1 cm higher than the side of the tin, this will allow for extra filling. Transfer the tart tin to the refrigerator to let it set.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

To make the filling, whisk the eggs, glucose, sugar, maple and golden syrups, butter, bourbon and vanilla together in a bowl, until well combined. Add half of the pecans to the mixture and stir well.

Remove the tart shell from the refrigerator and pour the filling into it. Arrange the remaining pecans on top of the pie.

Bake the pie for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 175ºC and bake for a further 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the centre of the pie comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before removing the tart tin. Serve with ice cream and/or whipped cream.

#billman #maple #pecan #pie