Chocolate Pecan Pie

*Thanks to OXO for sponsoring this post

After a little trip to Ireland to help host a food photography workshop with Eva, I came back to my new flat and finally, after 3 weeks, christened the oven by baking this pie.

Pies aren’t something I bake that often, usually because I’m so impatient and the idea of chilling, rolling out dough, blind baking and all that is not what I’m after. The ONE type of pie that I am willing to go through that whole process for is pecan pie. Every year I get far too excited about my mum making it for Thanksgiving and then I basically eat it every day for dessert for the week after. Since I’m now a fully grown adult (ish) in my own flat I thought baking a pecan pie for myself would be the very treat that suited the situation perfectly.

I visited Four & Twenty, the lovely little pie bakery in New York, a few years ago. We got a few slices of different pies, took them home and shared them. A standout was a chocolate pecan pie which was gooey and soft with a chocolatey base layer. I thought I would replicate that deliciousness here by adding a few chocolate chunks to the bottom of my mum’s pecan pie for that extra indulgence factor.

The pastry rolling process, which is probably my least favourite thing to do in baking because it’s so messy, has now been streamlined thanks to the OXO dough rolling bag – I can first of all chill the dough inside it which means I don’t have to use cling film (so less waste is created, yay!) and then roll the dough out inside the bag. It keeps the whole process incredibly clean and there are size guides on the bag, so you can use them to roll the pastry out to the correct size. It’s then just a quick flip of the pastry into the pie tin, some crimping and filling (no blind bake here, THANK YOUUU).

A nice 40-50 minute bake later (which, when you love pecan pie as much as I do, feels like an eternity) and you’ll have a whole pie full of heaven right there to share with your friends (or…maybe not).

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Pastry:

• 215 g (1 3/4 cups) plain white flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp light brown sugar
• 150 g (2/3 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cubed
• 30-60 ml (2-4 tbsp) cold water

Filling:

• 75 g (3 oz) dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
• 50 g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) maple syrup
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk
• 200 g (1 cup) packed light brown sugar
• pinch salt
• 2 large eggs
• 300 g (2 cups) pecans

1. In a large bowl mix the flour, salt and sugar. Add the cold, cubed butter to the bowl and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until sandy. Drizzle some of the cold water into the bowl, mixing in with your fingertips and lightly kneading (adding more water if it seems dry) until the dough comes together. 

2. Pat the dough into a circle and then place in the silicone dough rolling bag. Place into the fridge to chill for an hour. 

3. Remove the pastry from the fridge. Keeping it inside the silicone dough rolling bag, roll the pastry out into a circle 12-inches in diameter. Unzip the bag and flip the dough into an 8-inch pie tin. Trim excess pastry from around the edges and crimp decoratively if you’d like. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. 

4. Preheat the oven to 160^oC convection (180^oC/350^oF). 

Meanwhile make the filling:

1. In a small pot melt together the butter, maple syrup, milk, brown sugar and salt. Once the butter has melted and the mixture starts to bubble, take it off the heat. Allow to cool slightly before quickly beating in the eggs and folding in the pecans. 

2. Remove the lined pie tin from the freezer. Scatter the chocolate chunks over the base and pour in the filling. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden on top with a golden-brown crust. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes at least until cutting and serving. 

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