November is a bit of a non-month here in Ireland, traditionally: you know how January is a bit of a non-month at the start of the year? Well, November is the traditional Celtic January. In England, there's bonfire night on the 5th; in America, there's Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday; but here, it's just the waiting period between Hallowe'en and Christmas, with no real identity of its own.
As such, it's kind of difficult to come up with any nice and interesting baking projects. The only event I feel is worth baking for in November is my Dad's birthday, on the 16th, which is obviously specific to my family with no widespread relevance, like any other family birthday. So only things you can really do is to capitalise on Thanksgiving, which is not a native festival here, but it is gaining popularity, particularly the Black Friday sales.
Which is exactly what I've done here: I've taken a traditionally American and Canadian treat and done a local version using ingredients commonly available in Ireland. There's no corn syrup here: in this recipe, I use golden syrup, and maple flavoured golden syrup. In my previous maple pecan pie attempt a few years ago, I tried using actual maple syrup, but I personally prefer the taste of maple flavoured golden syrup: it has a stronger, albeit slightly synthetic, smoky flavour.
This recipe uses the exact same ingredient ratios as the chocolate fudge tart I made in May, but the chocolate has simply been replaced with syrup: it makes for a sticky sweet treat, with just enough egg to set the middle into a gloriously sticky custard filling, chock full of roasty toasty pecan nuts. It's a truly decadent treat, to be enjoyed in small doses with ice- or whipped cream.
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DIFFICULTY
Requires mixing (and pastry making skills if you're making your own pastry case)
TIME
About 2 hours
RECIPE RATING
Easy!
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INGREDIMENTS
Makes one 8 inch (20 centimetre) deep dish pie, weighing roughly 2¼ pounds (1 kilogram)
One 8" (20 centimetre) deep pie crust
3 ounces (85 grammes) golden syrup
3 ounces (85 grammes) maple syrup, or maple flavoured golden syrup
4 ounces (115 grammes) unsalted butter, or margarine
1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) lemon or orange juice
6 ounces (170 grammes) soft light brown sugar
2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence
2 medium (US Large) eggs, beaten
6 to 8 ounces (170 to 225 grammes) pecan nuts, toasted
Optional: 1 shot (35 millilitres) spiced rum
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FREE FROM
Nuts, wheat (if you make your own pastry), yeast
CONTAINS
Gluten, dairy (italics show alternatives), eggs, refined sugar,
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METHOD
- If you're making your own pie crust, blind bake it and allow it to cool. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4)
- In a small saucepan, heat together the syrups, butter, and lemon juice only until the butter is melted, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat and mix in the sugar and vanilla essence, and rum if using. Allow to cool slightly before adding the eggs.
- Using a balloon whisk, vigorously beat in the eggs until the mixture is smooth.
- Scatter three-quarters of the nuts on the base of the pie crust. Pour in the filling, then add enough nuts to nearly fill the pie crust completely; this pie doesn't rise much, if at all. Make sure to poke down the nuts so they are all covered in syrup.
- Bake on the centre shelf of the preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until the centre is puffed up and no longer liquidy; a little jiggly is okay. If the pastry is browning too quickly, over with a large piece of tin foil.
- Once cooked, remove from the oven and cool completely in the pie dish on a wire rack. If you want to remove the pie from the tin to serve, chill overnight before unmoulding.
STORAGE
As with all things made with pastry, this is best enjoyed within 3 days of eating, kept in an airtight container at room temperature. However, it can keep in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge.
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