Pecan Pie

One might ask what this Japanese born Aussie gal is doing, determined to master this great American classic. Well, it goes back to the story of this website. This great big wonderful online world known as the internet. This former corporate gal never expected to be blessed with this wonderful opportunity to share the food she loves with people in the far corners of this big wide world. From Denmark to Iceland, Mongolia (seriously!) to Argentina, and many from my home country of Australia. And many MANY from America. I put that down to my taste in food. Southern Fried Chicken – swoon. Fall apart brisket makes me want to cry. I’m a disgrace to my country because I regularly declare that America does the BEST burgers in the world. I believe Buffalo Wings are one of the greatest inventions ever, and that Gumbo was brought onto this earth just for me. And thus with Thanksgiving fast approaching, it had to be that I’d share a great American holiday classic especially for my American readers. My friends. Pecan Pie. Be still my beating heart. The glorious nutty pecans, that caramely-custardy filling. That flaky buttery pastry. It’s heaven in the form of a pie.

You’ll find an extensive list of credits in the recipe, all of whom I referenced in a bid to come up with my version of a great Pecan Pie. And it all starts with the pie crust. Store bought? Sure, go ahead. I don’t even know if we can get store bought pie crusts here in Australia, I’ve never looked. When I make pie, it’s always entirely from scratch. Not from snobbery, it’s just that we don’t have nearly as much ready made things here in Australia (like bread doughs etc), so I’ve been brought up learning how to make these kind of things from scratch. I know there are recipes out there that swear by using shortening in pie crusts to make them flaky. And it’s not that I’m adverse to it as such – it is sold here (butter section, for fellow Aussies reading this). But the fact is, it just doesn’t add flavour. And using only butter still yields a fantastically flaky crust. So I opt to stick with butter. And when I was researching around about Pecan Pie, I saw that Deb Perelman from Smitten Kitchen said the same thing, and I felt validated. So all butter it is. And my food processor. To make it quick work. Watch the video. (Below recipe)

As for the pecans. Well, it’s hard to go wrong with these nuts. Except one little tip. Gotta toast the nuts that go INTO the filling. It really truly brings out the flavour. I promise you won’t regret the extra 3 minutes it takes to do this before you chop them up. Keep a handful of them whole to decorate the top. No need to toast these ones. Unless you don’t want to decorate your pie. Just go ahead and toast and chop them all.

The Filling is pretty straight forward. There are many Pecan Pie variations – chocolate, maple, etc etc – but if you’re sticking with the classic, the ingredients are fairly standard. Egg (which sets it like custard), sugar, corn syrup (don’t worry, there are subs if you can’t find corn syrup), butter, pinch of salt and vanilla. Oh – and bourbon, if you want to keep it real. 🙂 Though if not, just leave it out.

And this is how it looks after the most difficult step of all – leaving the Pecan Pie until it cools completely. And I’m serious here – you need to let it cool COMPLETELY in order for the filling to set. Don’t get impatient. Now is not the time. The filling should be set so you can slice it without it oozing everywhere, but it’s soft and custardy. It does not look like a smooth set caramel, like in my Salted Caramel Tart, and it’s not meant to.

Pecan Pie. How I love thee. I may not be a Star Baker. My pie crust looks… err… rustic. 🙂 There are more perfect looking ones out there. But it’s buttery and flaky, crumbly and delicate, just as it should be. That filling is set but it’s soft and custardy. And those pecans are so… well, pecany. It’s obscene how much of this I can inhale in one sitting. – Nagi xx

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

One of the most painful recipe videos I’ve made. Can’t tell you how many stops-and-starts and hand washing between handling dough / camera was required for this!!!