Ingredients
For the pastry pie crust
- 160gm plain flour
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 115g Pepe Saya unsalted butter – cold and cut into small cubes
- 2-3 tbsp water (ice cold)
For the filling
- 3 free range eggs
- 200g brown sugar
- 60 g of Pepe Saya unsalted butter (melted)
- 185ml of golden syrup or maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 0.25 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp of cinnamon
- 2.5 cups pecans – half for the filling and half to decorate
- Icing sugar for dusting (optional)
- Optional 3 tbsp bourbon, rum or whatever you fancy (this is optional and you can leave it out)
Method
- Put the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. Pulse a few times.
- Add the butter. Pulse again until the butter breaks into small pieces, you don’t need to blend it.
- With your food processor on a low setting add in the cold water to create a crumbly texture, it won’t need long. Once done you should be able to bring the mix together with your fingers. Add more water here if needed. The trick with pastry is cold hands, cold water.
- Put the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and bring it together into a ball. Cling wrap and refrigerate this for 30 minutes. While this is chilling you can roast your pecans for the filling (next step).
- Once chilled, it is time to roll out the pastry for the crust. Place the pastry onto a floured surface and dust some more flour on top.
- Roll it out into a 25cm circle. Crumbly dough creates more flaky pastry.
- Place the pastry onto your rolling pin and place it over a 22cm pastry tine. Press it into the tin and trim the edges, leaving a slight overhang around as it will shrink, tuck these under the edge. Brush the edges with a little egg wash (optional).
- Put a piece of baking paper over the pastry and fill it with baking beans. If you don’t have baking beans you can use dried chickpeas, rice or lentils (you can hang onto these and reuse next time for baking) – use whatever you have!
- Bake for 15 minutes at 200◦C fan forced. Take the crust out and remove the weights, let this cool slightly. Turn the oven down to 160◦C fan forced for the pie to cook once filled.
- AND if pastry just is not your thing, you can buy it 😉 Just ensure it is made with real butter to get the flaky buttery pastry.
Roasting the pecans for the top (do this while the pastry chills)
- Preheat your oven to 160◦C fan forced.
- Put the half of the pecans on a baking tray and then into the preheated oven for 4-5 minutes – watch them carefully until just toasted.
- Chop these pecans – they will go in the filling.
- Turn the oven up to 200◦C ready for the pastry crust to go in.
The filling
- Whisk your eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients (brown sugar, melted butter, golden syrup or maple syrup, vanilla and salt + add bourbon or rum in here if you would like) and whisk again until it is smooth.
- Add in your roasted and chopped pecans and stir through lightly.
- Pour into your slightly cooled crust.
- Using your whole pecans, decorate the top of the pie. Be creative.
- Bake for 50 minutes at 180◦C fan forced. Check it once or twice, you want to see it lightly brown on top and the filling to lightly set. If you find it is browning too much on top cover it with some foil.
Enjoying!
Allow the pie to cool, then dust with icing sugar and serve with Pepe Saya crème fraiche or clotted cream.
What to order for this recipe
- Pepe Saya unsalted cultured butter wheel or our unsalted cooking butter
- Pepe Saya Crème fraiche or clotted cream
- Olsson’s Sea Salt