Pecan Pie


It was Father's Day on Sunday and my brother-in-law is a bit of a grill/smoker aficionado. He and his partner have a passion for cooking and they dedicated a whole day to making a smoked feast for my father-in-law on his special day.

Following recipes on Franklin Barbecue: A Smoking Manifesto, they made pulled pork, beef short ribs and brisket. All smoked to perfection (needless to say I was in a food coma by 1pm). To tie in with their Texan-style barbecue, I thought I'd do some dessert. And what would a good ol' southern style bbq be without a pecan pie?

I did a bit of online research and I came across this recipe for a wonderful sour cream pastry for the base (it was so crumbly and delicious!) and I used it with a Martha Stewart Pecan Pie Recipe. I made some small adjustments, like using half pecan pieces and half pecan halves (just to give it some different textures), and I supplemented the corn syrup, which is a bit hard to come by in Australia, with golden syrup.

You will need...
For the pie crust:
1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp caster sugar
125gr or 1/2 a cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter
1/4 cup of full-fat sour cream

For the Filling:
2 1/2 cups pecan halves/pieces
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup golden syrup
1/4 cup caster sugar
4 Tbs (80gr) unsalted butter

Method..
1. Make the pastry a day ahead; (or at least a couple of hours) cube the butter and leave out for 30 minutes to take the chill off. Sift the flour, salt and sugar together. Use your fingertips to work the cubed butter into the flour until it resembles a wet sand with some chunky bits - this is a very buttery recipe so it will be quite chunky!
2. Scoop the sour cream into the mixture and work with a wooden spoon until a dough begins to form. Work quickly with your hands until just smooth, cover with glad wrap and refrigerate overnight.
3. To bake; Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius, grease a pie dish. Remove the dough from the fridge and leave to soften.
4. Prepare the filling by melting the butter, mixing the sugars and golden syrup with the eggs and use a whisk to beat as you gradually pour in the butter. Fold in the pecans.
5. Use a little bit of plain flour to roll out the dough to an even thickness, place the dough into the pie dish, trim off excess and press the rim with your thumb. Pour in the filling and place in the oven. Bake for 50 minutes, or until filling is set.
6. Cool completely, for several hours before serving- do not put in the fridge before serving as this will affect the pastry. Serve with vanilla ice-cream or fresh whipped cream.

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