Ben Bakes!

If I had to pick my favorite recipe, this just might be the one. This maple pecan pie recipe has been my go-to, “special event” dessert for years. Thinking about it makes me crave it. Mmm. It’s delicious, comforting, and a guaranteed crowd pleaser. And aside from the crust, it’s very easy to make. The filling is enough for a 9 to 9 1/2″ deep dish pie plate, or an 11″ tart pan. When I’ve been pressed for time, I’ve used a frozen store-bought crust and it’s just about as good. If you do use a store bought crust, just make sure you pre-bake it (as you would the from-scratch crust) before putting in the filling, to keep the crust from getting soggy. You can follow the pre-bake instructions in this recipe for a store bought crust as well.

A couple of things to really make this pie or tart the best it can be: first, use roasted pecans in the filling. Roasting them really brings out the flavor of the pecans and gives them a crisp, light texture, as opposed to the more chewy texture of unroasted pecans. Secondly, use Grade B maple syrup. Grade B doesn’t mean worse than Grade A when talking about maple syrup. Rather, it refers to color and flavor, and Grade B has a deeper, more robust flavor than Grade A.

I’ve always made this using a 9 1/2 inch pie plate in the past, but this time used an 11″ tart pan, and I think it was actually better. Because the custard filling was thinner, the delicious roasted pecans really stood out. Each bite was a perfect balance of crust, custard filling and pecans.

This is fantastic slightly warmed, and served with either whipped cream on top (my preference) or a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Maple pecan tart

Adapted from Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie by Ken Haedrich. Crust adapted from Martha Stewart’s pate brisee recipe.

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup ice water
• 1 egg white, beaten (for pre-baking)

For the filling:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3/4 cup maple syrup, preferrably Grade B
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecan halves

Directions

Roast the pecans:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
3. Bake for 6 1/2 minutes, until nuts are golden brown and fragrant.
4. Remove from the oven and let cool. They crisp up as they cool.

Prepare the tart crust:

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the butter, and using a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Add ice water a little bit at a time, and using your hands, work the dough until it is no longer crumbly and forms a ball. Use just enough water so that it holds together–the less water you use, the better.
3. Flatten the ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour.
4. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about a 14-inch round, and then transfer it to a 11” tart pan with a removable bottom. Fold in the overhanging dough and press it into the sides of the tart pan. Pierce the dough all over with fork and freeze for 15 minutes.

Prebake the crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Set the tart pan on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Place a large piece of parchment paper on top and fill with pie weights (I use raw beans). Bake for 10 minutes, and then remove.
3. Set the oven to 375 degrees F.
4. Prick holes in any part of the dough that is bubbling. Using a pastry brush, spread the egg white all over the bottom and sides of the tart pan. Bake about 8 minutes longer, until the crust is just starting to brown.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Prepare the filling and bake the tart:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, butter, eggs and egg yolk until blended.
3. Add the maple syrup, corn syrup, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt and whisk until blended.
4. Stir in the roasted pecans.
5. Carefully pour the filling into the cooled pie shell. If needed, use a fork to gently rake the nuts to distribute them evenly.
6. Place foil or a pie shield onto the edge of the crust to prevent it from burning.
7. Place the pie on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and bake on the center oven rack for 30 minutes, then rotate the pie 180 degrees, so that the part that faced the back of the oven now faces forward.
8. Continue to bake until the filling has set, 20 to 25 minutes. This means that the perimeter has puffed slightly and the center will not move in waves when you nudge it.

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