Thanksgiving
I discovered Thanksgiving when I spent my first year in Louisiana. There is nothing more reminiscent of Thanksgiving to me than a pecan pie. One bite into the buttery crust, the gooey custard, and the crunchy nuts, and I'm transported back in time, around a table filled with mashed sweet potatoes, sausage and oyster stuffing, and home-baked sourdough bread.
2019 Update: I now use Mary Berry's rough puff pastry recipe as my go-to crust for most pies I make, and it works especially well with this filling!
PASTRY DOUGH (MARY BERRY's ROUGH PUFF)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
cold water (between 1/2 and 2/3 cup)
50 grams of unsalted butter, chilled (about 3 tablespoons)
120 grams of unsalted butter, frozen (about 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon)
FILLING
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups pecan halves
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
DIRECTIONS
Make the crust. Don't forget to freeze 120 grams of butter before starting.
In a bowl, mix flour and salt together. Cut chilled butter into small dice. Rub in the chilled butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Gradually add enough water to form a dough. Dough should come together as a ball. Roll the dough out into a rectangle on a lightly floured work surface.
Grate frozen butter. Put half of the grated frozen butter over the bottom two thirds of the dough. Fold down the top third and fold up the bottom third as if folding a letter. Turn the folded dough through 90 degrees and roll it out into a rectangle again. Repeat the process of adding the remaining frozen butter and fold as before. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before using.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge. Lightly prick bottom all over with a fork and set aside.
In a small heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in corn syrup, vanilla, and salt. Lightly beat eggs in a medium bowl, then whisk in corn syrup mixture. Put pecans in pie shell and pour corn syrup mixture evenly over them (I set aside 25-30 pecan halves to place decoratively on top of the filling). Bake until filling is set, 1 hour (mine took a bit longer, about 10 more minutes). Cool completely.
2019 Update: I now use Mary Berry's rough puff pastry recipe as my go-to crust for most pies I make, and it works especially well with this filling!
PASTRY DOUGH (MARY BERRY's ROUGH PUFF)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
cold water (between 1/2 and 2/3 cup)
50 grams of unsalted butter, chilled (about 3 tablespoons)
120 grams of unsalted butter, frozen (about 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon)
FILLING
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups pecan halves
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
DIRECTIONS
Make the crust. Don't forget to freeze 120 grams of butter before starting.
In a bowl, mix flour and salt together. Cut chilled butter into small dice. Rub in the chilled butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Gradually add enough water to form a dough. Dough should come together as a ball. Roll the dough out into a rectangle on a lightly floured work surface.
Grate frozen butter. Put half of the grated frozen butter over the bottom two thirds of the dough. Fold down the top third and fold up the bottom third as if folding a letter. Turn the folded dough through 90 degrees and roll it out into a rectangle again. Repeat the process of adding the remaining frozen butter and fold as before. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before using.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge. Lightly prick bottom all over with a fork and set aside.
In a small heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in corn syrup, vanilla, and salt. Lightly beat eggs in a medium bowl, then whisk in corn syrup mixture. Put pecans in pie shell and pour corn syrup mixture evenly over them (I set aside 25-30 pecan halves to place decoratively on top of the filling). Bake until filling is set, 1 hour (mine took a bit longer, about 10 more minutes). Cool completely.
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