DESSERT

Judith's pecan pie

Judith is mijn kleine zus, en de vaste assistent van mijn moeder voor de familiediners op zondagavond. Meestal volgt ze de instructies van mijn mama, maar soms krijgt ze de volledige verantwoordelijkheid over een deel van de maaltijd. Op een avond maakte ze deze taart. In mijn boekje stond al een recept voor pecan pie, maar ik verving het meteen door deze versie.

Deeg maken wordt een pak eenvoudiger met een keukenrobot. Voor de nog snellere versie kan je natuurlijk ook gewoon voorgemaakt kruimeldeeg kopen. Bij het schikken van de pecannoten in een cirkel, kan geen enkele keukenrobot je helpen, maar het loont de moeite wanneer je de prachtig gedecoreerde taart op tafel zet.

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Judith's Pecan Pie

Judith is my younger sister and my mother’s most loyal assistant for Sunday family dinners. Most of the time she follows my mother’s instructions, but occasionally she is given full responsibility for part of the meal. One evening, she made this tart. My notebook already contained a pecan pie recipe, but I immediately replaced it with this version.

Making the dough is much easier with a stand mixer. For an even quicker option, you can of course use ready-made shortcrust pastry. When it comes to arranging the pecans in a circular pattern, no stand mixer can help you — but it’s well worth the effort when you place the beautifully decorated tart on the table.

1 1/2 cups (175 g) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp (15 g) granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (4 oz / 120 g) cold butter, cut into cubes
1/4 cup (2 oz / 60 g) melted butter
2–4 tbsp cold water
3/4 cup (150 g) dark brown sugar
2/3 cup (150 ml) maple syrup
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (250 g) pecans

1. Place the butter and water in the refrigerator about 15 minutes before you start making the dough, so they are very cold. Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add the cold butter cubes. Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Do not overwork it, and make sure the butter doesn’t get too warm.

2. Add the ice water and quickly bring everything together into a dough. Small pieces of butter may still be visible in the dough—this helps create a nice texture.

3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9-inch (24 cm) round tart pan with butter.

5. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 1/8 inch (3 à 4 cm). Line the tart pan with the dough and prick the base a few times with a fork. Crumple a piece of parchment paper, place it over the dough, and fill it with pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the parchment and weights and bake the crust for another 5 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.

6. For the filling, combine the dark brown sugar and salt in a bowl and mix well. Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract, then whisk in the eggs. Finally, stir in the melted butter.

7. Coarsely chop 6 oz (175 g) of the pecans and spread them evenly over the baked crust. Pour the filling over them and arrange the remaining 2.6 oz (75 g) pecan halves decoratively in a circular pattern on top. Bake the pecan pie at 350°F (180°C) for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.

8. If the pecans on top start to darken too much during baking, loosely cover the pie with aluminum foil toward the end of the baking time. Let the pie cool in the pan.