When I bought Beatrix Bakes : Another Slice by Natalie Paull, this chocolate rum maple pecan pie was the first recipe I bookmarked. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it was the perfect time to make the pie.
I've made this pie twice now, once with buckwheat pastry (not a fan) and the second time with a simple shortcrust pastry. I made a smaller pie the second time round, so the quantities have been adjusted (just click on the link above for the original quantities) and I also needed to adjust most of the baking temperatures to suit my gas oven. Natalie recommends baking the pie at 130°C but as my oven only has 'low' followed by 160°C, I baked my pie for 40 minutes at 160°C then 20 minutes at 170°C.
Here’s the recipe for you which makes a 11 x 33 cm rectangular pie. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.
Chocolate Rum Maple Pecan Pie - filling adapted from a Natalie Paull recipe
Pastry
60 grams cold unsalted butter
150g plain flour
Pinch salt
2-3 tablespoons iced water
Filling
125g whole pecans
185ml pure maple syrup
110g demarara sugar (I used a mix of caster sugar and light brown sugar)
2 eggs
1 egg yolk (reserving the egg white to seal the tart shell)
65g unsalted butter, super soft
40ml cream (35% milkfat)
15ml dark rum (or extra maple syrup for booze-free)
10g Dutch cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla paste
pinch sea salt flakes
To finish
200ml thick cream (45% milkfat)
10ml dark rum (optional)
3g vanilla paste
Pinch of sea salt flakes
Method
Combine the butter, flour and salt in a food processor. Gradually add sufficient water until a dough form around the blade. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Roll out to fit a 11 x 33 cm rectangular tin then refrigerate the shell for at least 1 hour before blind baking. Hold a little of the excess dough to patch any cracks after blind baking.
To blind bake, preheat the oven to 200°C, conventional. Trim the edges of the pastry with a sharp knife then cover the dough with a piece of aluminium foil (dull side down), tucking it snugly into the corner of the tin. Fill the lined tin with caster sugar, rice or baking beans. Place in the oven on a baking tray, then reduce the heat to 165°C and bake for 50–60 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5–10 minutes so the base crust is a biscuity brown colour.
For the filling, heat the oven to 130°C/160°C, conventional and scatter the pecans onto a shallow baking tray. Bake for 25–30 minutes until they’re just starting to darken on the outside and are the palest brown inside – cut or snap one open to assess. Set 15 g aside for the end decoration and use the rest for the filling. Keep the oven on 130°C/160°C and set a rack on a low shelf and remove the upper racks.
Set up a double boiler: heat 5 cm deep water in a 20 cm saucepan to a low simmer and choose a heatproof bowl large enough that the base won’t touch the water when resting on top of the saucepan. Weigh all the remaining ingredients, except the pecans, into the bowl and whisk together thoroughly. The butter and cocoa will be lumpy, but all will melt and combine together as it heats.
Set the bowl over the double boiler and whisk occasionally until the mix thickens and the chocolate and butter melt. This should take around 10 minutes. The mix will read 55–60°C on a digital thermometer and will look like a lustrous brown milkshake. Take care it doesn’t overcook and get chunky/curdled at any stage. Scrape the filling into a jug.
If the mix does start cooking firm at the edge, act fast. Take the bowl off the double boiler and whisk vigorously to release the steam and regulate the temperature. If the mix gets very overcooked, strain out the cooked egg chunks and whisk the drained filling into a fresh whole egg.
Place the blind-baked crust, still in the tin, on a shallow baking tray. If there are any large cracks or dipped sides, soften some leftover dough and gently patch any large fissures – taking care not to press hard and break the crust. Meticulously brush a light layer of the egg white on the inside of the tart to seal any fine cracks, then bake for 3 minutes to seal the egg white.
Bring the tart crust back out and crush the toasted pecans with force in your hands while letting them fall onto the base of the crust. Par-crushed pecans give the top a nougaty texture and make cutting the tart easier than whole pecans. Return the crust to the oven. Carefully pour the filling into the crust, being careful not to overfill. Tease the pecans back up to float on the surface with your finger or a spoon, ensuring there are no pecan-less gaps on the top.
Bake for 50–60 minutes at 130°C/160°C. The wobble check is different for this pie because of the crusty nut raft: touch the top of the pie to feel how cooked it is below. If liquid and jiggly, bake longer. Gently peel off a pecan from the centre to check underneath – it will look like a stable yet soft cream. There should be gooey residue on an inserted skewer (85°C internal).
Cool at room temperature for a least an hour (2 is good) or chill for a chewier bite. To finish, whip the cream with the rum, vanilla and salt and pile onto the centre of the cooled pie. With an offset spatula, gently spread the cream over the pie, leaving a 6 cm border all around so you can see the pie goodness underneath. Hold a handful of the reserved toasted pecans in your fist and crush them as you let them fall onto the cream.
To serve, cut gently through the cream, pecan top and side crust with a fine serrated knife, clean the knife, then cut through fully along the slice line to chomp through to the base.
This went down a treat both at work and at home and just fyi, the whipped cream topping is not an optional extra.
See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.
Bye for now,
Jillian
