Black Bottom Pecan Pie
Photo by Mark Weinberg
MAKES
One 9 inch / 23 cm pie
TAKES
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Total: 1 hour
✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE
One of the pie lessons I learned from my grandma that I still carry with me: trust your gut. She and I both loved the combination of chocolate with a classic pecan pie, but we feared what the family might say if we brought a less traditional pie to the holiday table. But we were the pie bakers after all, so we made it the way we liked. Turns out, our guts were right - this pie is out of this world, and I’ve been baking it for my family ever since. Recipe excerpted from The Book on Pie.
INGREDIENTS
one recipe Extra Flaky All Buttah Pie Dough or Gluten Free Pie Dough, Par-Baked + cooled completely
Black Bottom Base
113 g / 4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
78 g / ⅓ cup heavy cream
Pecan Pie Filling
320 g / 2 ½ cups pecan halves
71 g / 2 ½ ounces (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
212 g / 1 cup packed dark or light brown sugar
191 g / ½ cup maple syrup
170 g / 3 large eggs
21 g / 1 large egg yolk
45 g / 3 tablespoons heavy cream
10 g / 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
scant 1 g / ¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 g / ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 g / ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Never Par-Baked? Never Fear!
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C with a rack in the lower third of the oven. Place the par-baked pie crust on a baking sheet.
2. Make the black bottom base: place the chocolate in a medium heat safe bowl. In a small saucepan, and bring the cream to a boil over medium heat.
3. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit undisturbed, then stir gently until the ganache is thick and smooth.
4. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pie crust, and spread into an even layer in the base and slightly up the sides of the pie crust.
5. Arrange the pecan halves in an even layer on top of the chocolate. Set aside while you prepare the custard.
6. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs, egg yolk, cream, extracts, salt, and cinnamon until well combined. Gently pour the custard over the pecans.
7. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown and the custard appears set on the outside, but is still jiggly in the center, 35-40 minutes. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
NOTES
The crust can be par-baked up to 24 hours ahead of baking the final pie.
✻ HAVE YOU BAKED IT?
Tag @emcdowell on Instagram or use #happybaking. I’d love to see your bakes!
