Pecan Nut Pie

You know you have really good friends when they are willing to eat your first attempt of a terribly burnt, sorry looking pecan nut pie. I hang my head in shame when I think about Jess and her brother Brett eating what I put forward. It was a good enough reason to get back in the kitchen and try it all over again, this time learning from my mistakes.

 

Baking is all about trial and error, and as much as I would like to not admit this, I certainly do make a lot of mistakes and botch up a lot of baking recipes. Being in the kitchen puts me in a hyper-happy, dance-in-the-kitchen kind of mood, but when things go wrong the ‘happy dance’ turns into an adult version of a temper tantrum and outbursts of frustration, and depending on how bad it gets, utensil throwing. Yeah, I know, I should have called this blog “Diva’s Delights”, but it really frustrates me when things go wrong in my ‘happy place’, and it bothers me to no end when I serve up something that is not good to eat.

Now, can you imagine what my poor select guinea pigs feel like when I put a failed attempt of food in front of them to eat? Not only do they have to put the food in their mouths, but they have to also give Miss Moody-Pants (aka Me) their thoughts. I have to hand it to my group of special people with stomachs made of steel; they truly help me figure out what went wrong, and always encourage me to pick my head up, go back in the kitchen and try again. 

I’ve always maintained these types of people are important to have in our lives; ones that tell you the truth, give you constructive criticism, and who always push you to keep going when you’ve given up. This better version of pecan nut pie is dedicated to those people in my life, who eat my good and failed baking attempts, and encourage me to always keep at it. 

Pecan nut pie recipe:

Ingredients

Pastry:

2 Cups Cake Flour, sifted

Pinch Salt

190g Butter

½ Cup Castor Sugar

2 Medium egg yolks

Filling:

1 egg, lightly whisked

6 - 7 Tbs Honey

60g Caster sugar

55g Butter

Pinch Salt

1 Cup Pecan Nuts

Instruction:

• Preheat your oven to 160 degrees.

Pastry:

1. Mix all the ingredients together with an electric whisk used for dough.
2. Once the ingredients are combined, squish the crumbly mixture together, flour a surface and place the crumbly mixture on the surface.
3. Knead the mixture on the floured surface until it resembles a smooth dough-like consistency.
4. Wrap the dough ball in cling wrap and leave in the fridge for 20 minutes
5. After 20 minutes, take the dough out the fridge, knead it again, and either roll it out into a thin layer or pull pieces off and press the dough into the foil tray.
6. Once the thin layer of dough covers the foil tray, prick the base of the dough with a fork and set in the fridge for a further 10 minutes.
7. Once the 10 minutes are done, place a sheet of baking paper over the dough layered tray, and put rice or baking beans on top to act as a weight on the dough
8. Blind bake for 10 minutes.

Filling:

1. In a bowl place all the ingredients (except the pecan nuts), and mix using an electric beater, until creamy but still runny in consistency.

• Once the pastry has baked for 10 minutes, take the tray out and remove the baking paper and beans/rice.

• Scoop the filling on top of the pastry layer. Scoop until it is about ½ - ¾ full with the filling.

• Sprinkle your pecan nuts on top of the mixture.

• Place the pecan nut pie in the oven for 30 – 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Note: Once the entire pie is in the oven I would recommend you stand close by to watch over the pecan nut pie 20 minutes into the baking, as the honey filling easily burns.