Brandy Pecan Pie

Do you have a sweet tooth? Do you really? Well, if that’s true, you will definitely enjoy a Brandy Pecan Pie that we recently made! With the toffee-flavour brown sugar, maple syrup and honey, this triple sweetened Pecan Pie is not for the faint-hearted. Further flavoured with a drop of brandy and toasted pecan undernotes, this delicious tart is a great way to indulge in the best of American cuisine! A little advice: don’t look at the calories in this little beauty… Diet starts tomorrow…

We have been having a bit of an American food obsession lately… We’ve been having fish tacos, homemade tater tots and peanut butter jelly sandwiches over the last couple of weeks, and we just cannot stop going back for more good old American flavour combinations.

This pecan tart comes with a bit of a story. Please don’t judge, but this was the first bake I planned to make after our “Refined Sugar-Free January”. Yes, I know… It seems our January project did not work as intended. Not only did I not beat the sugar habit, but I was craving sugar so much, that Brandy Pecan Pie was the first on the list to make in February! It’s an addiction! I know… So come February 1st, I asked Seb to do a shop run to get some pecans and… well… sugar. Little did I know that there is a shortage of pecans all across Wrexham! Seb went to two supermarkets and… NOTHING! Empty shelves! The next day I went myself. Two more supermarkets – NOTHING! I almost resorted to making a Brandy Walnut Pie instead, but wanted to stay true to American traditions and make the ‘real thing’!

When I finally made it, I realised it was on the 12th of February – Lincoln’s birthday!

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Step-by-Step Brandy Pecan Pie Recipe:

Step 1: Make Shortcrust Pastry:

Place flour, salt and cubed butter in a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (you can achieve this by placing the ingredients into a food processor and pulsing a few times). Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time to bring the mixture into a ball of dough. Only knead enough to have a cohesive pastry that you can roll.

Flatten it out a bit and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out into a circle approx 30x30cm (big enough to cover the bottom and sides of your tart tin and have some pastry overhanging).

Carefully line the 20cm loose bottom tart tin with the pastry, making sure you get into the corners. Leave excess pastry overhanging the sides. Prick the bottom with a fork and place the tart tin in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.

Step 2: Blind Bake the Tart Case:

Preheat the oven to 180C Fan. Place a large sheet of baking parchment inside your tart and pour baking beans over to weigh down the pastry. Blind bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the beans and baking parchment and return to the oven for another 5 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 160C Fan. Mix together 1 teaspoon of brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of plain flour (other ingredients) and sprinkle the mixture onto the base of your baked tart case. Set it aside whilst you prepare the filling.

Step 3: Make the Filling:

Place the butter and brown sugar in a large heatproof bowl.

Heat maple syrup and honey in a small saucepan for approx.5 minutes, until bubbling (kitchen thermometer should read approx. 107 C). Pour the mixture onto the sugar and butter and whisk until the butter has melted, then set aside to cool down for 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, brandy, vanilla paste and a pinch of salt. Slowly pour the cooled sugar mixture into the eggs, whisking continuously. Set aside.

Toast pecan halves in a large dry frying pan, until slightly browned and smelling nutty and toasty. Scatter them inside the prepared shortcrust pastry case.

Carefully pour the filling over pecans. Using a spoon, submerge any pecans that poke out (although the filling may be too thin for them to stay down). Carefully transfer the pie into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. The edges will have puffed up and the middle will still be slightly jiggly.

Take the pecan pie out of the oven and leave to cool for at least 4 hours before serving. If you want to get a clean cut of a slice, put the pie in the fridge for an hour to firm up. We love it with some brandy whipped cream!

Other American cuisine inspired recipes that we simply love, include:

• All-American Sweet Potato Pie with Pretzel Crumble Top
• Peanut Butter Jelly Cookies (coming soon)

Brandy Pecan Pie

Do you have a sweet tooth? Do you really? Well, if that's true, you will definitely enjoy a Brandy Pecan Pie that we recently made! With the toffee-flavour brown sugar, maple syrup and honey, this triple sweetened Pecan Pie is not for the faint-hearted. Further flavoured with a drop of brandy and toasted pecan undernotes, this is a delicious tart is a great way to indulge in the best of American cuisine!

4.82 from 11 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Pastry Chilling & Pie Cooling: 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 5 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Baking, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 8 portions

Calories 542 kcal

Equipment

• 20cm lose bottom tart tin

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

For Pastry Case:

• 150 g plain flour
• 65 g unsalted butter fridge cold
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2-3 tablespoon cold water

For the Filling:

• 155 g light brown sugar
• 55 g unsalted butter
• 120 g maple syrup
• 85 g runny honey
• 2 tablespoon fine polenta/ cornmeal
• 3 eggs large
• 2 tablespoon brandy or cognac
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 200 g pecan halves

Other Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon plain flour

Instructions

 

• Place flour, salt and cubed butter in a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (you can achieve this by placing these ingredients into a food processor and pulsing a few times). Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time to bring the mixture into a ball of dough. Only knead enough to have a cohesive pastry that you can roll.
• Flatten it out a bit and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out into a circle approx 30x30cm (big enough to cover the bottom and sides of your tart tin and have some pastry overhanging).
• Carefully line the tart tin with the pastry, making sure you get into the corners. Leave excess pastry overhanging the sides. Prick the bottom with a fork and place the tart tin in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C Fan. Place a large sheet of baking parchment inside your tart and pour baking beans over to weight down the pastry. Blind bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the beans nad baking parchment and return to the oven for another 5 minutes.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C Fan. Mix together 1 teaspoon of brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of plain flour (other ingredients) and sprinkle the mixture onto the base of your baked tart case. Set it aside whilst you prepare the filling.
• Place the butter and brown sugar in a large heatproof bowl.
• Heat maple syrup and honey in a small saucepan for approx.5 minutes, until bubbling (kitchen thermometer should read 107 C). Pour the mixture onto the sugar and butter and whisk until the butter has melted, the set aside to cool down for 10 minutes.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, brandy, vanilla paste and a pinch of salt. Slowly pour the cooled sugar mixture into the eggs, whisking continuously. Set aside.
• Toast pecan halves in a large dry frying pan, until slightly browned and smelling nutty and toasty. Scatter them in the prepared shortcrust pastry case.
• Carefully pour the filling over pecans. Using a spoon, submerge any pecans that poke out (although the filling may be too thin for them to stay down). Carefully transfer it into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. The edges will have puffed up and the middle will still be slightly jiggly.
• Take the pencan pie out of the oven and leave to cool for at least 4 hours before serving. If you want to get a clean cut of a slice, put the pie in the fridge for an hour to firm up. We love it with some brandy We love it with some brandy whipped cream!

Notes

Slightly adapted Lisa Ludwinski’s recipe for Brandy Pecan Pie.

Nutrition

Calories: 542kcalCarbohydrates: 59gProtein: 7gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 94mgSodium: 106mgPotassium: 223mgFiber: 3gSugar: 39gVitamin A: 478IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 67mgIron: 2mg

Keyword American Pies, Banana & Pecan Tart, Brandied Pecan Pie, Brandy Piecan Pie, Cognac Pecan Pie, Pecan And Brandy Tart, Pecan Pie, Pecan Pie with Brandy, Pecan Pie with Cognac, Tart with Pecans, Traditional American Pies

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