chocolate rum maple pecan pie
18 Nov 2024
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.
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.
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.
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).
This went down a treat both at work and at home and just fyi, the whipped cream topping is not an optional extra.