Pecan Pie..baked in a tart pan

After all the cakes I have been baking recently, I missed pie.

My fiance requested pecan pie (his favorite) for his birthday this week. 

I must add here that I detested pecan pie before this relationship. It is usually gummy and cloyingly sweet. In fact, when he told me that his favorite pie was pecan, I sighed heavily on the inside and skeptically went about researching pecan pie recipes. To my delight, I discovered that pecan pie could be delicious when baked properly from scratch and I even discovered a version using dates instead of some of the corn syrup and brown sugar. It adds a natural earthy flavor and a bit of texture to the filling and keeps it from being too sweet. Since I discovered this recipe, I have been adding dates to pecan pie. (EDITED TO ADD: I have also copied the recipe at the bottom of this post.)

I still prefer fruit pies, but I no longer sigh at the mention of pecan pie. (Thank god, because that was pretty obnoxious of me, huh?)

Though I have several standby pecan pie recipes I wanted to try the version in the Pie and Pastry Bible.

Rose's pecan pie recipe in the Bible baked in the tart pan so that "every bit (except the very edge) contains the same amount of crust, nuts and filling." Luckily my fiance bought me a tart pan and thinks I don't use it enough. Less filling than a traditional pie keeps it being too sweet and a bittersweet chocolate glaze piped on top in spiderwebby fashion adds a slight touch of richness.

The result was delicious and I just popped into the kitchen and there is another wedge missing, so someone went back for thirds.

I am going to keep my eye out for Lyle's Golden Syrup which is lighter in color & mellower in flavor than corn syrup so I can try using it in pecan pie as this recipe recommends. I think it will create a shinier top and it is supposed to be less sweet than corn syrup.

	Becky Luigart-Stayner; Jan Gautro

Pecan and Date Pie

The unexpected addition of dates to this classic pie gives the filling more body and a smooth sweetness. Don't use packaged chopped dates, which are rolled in sugar. Instead, use moist and sticky whole dates. Coat your knife with cooking spray for easy chopping

Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour, divided
3 tablespoons ice water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
Cooking spray

Filling:
1/2 cup whole pitted dates, chopped
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325°.

To prepare crust, lightly spoon 1 cup flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine 1/4 cup flour, water, and juice, stirring with a whisk until well blended to form a slurry.

Combine 3/4 cup flour, powdered sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cut in shortening with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add slurry; toss with a fork until mixture is moist. Gently press mixture into a 4-inch circle on 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap that overlap; cover with two additional sheets of overlapping plastic wrap. Roll dough, still covered, into a 12-inch circle; freeze 10 minutes.

Remove top 2 sheets of plastic wrap; let dough stand 1 minute or until pliable. Fit dough, plastic-wrap side up, into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Remove remaining plastic wrap. Press dough into bottom and up sides of pan. Fold edges under; flute.

To prepare filling, sprinkle dates and pecans evenly over bottom of crust. Combine corn syrup and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Pour mixture into prepared crust. Bake at 325° for 55 minutes or until a knife inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield:  10 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

CALORIES 321 (29% from fat); FAT 10.2g (sat 2.2g,mono 4.7g,poly 2.5g); IRON 1.5mg; CHOLESTEROL 85mg; CALCIUM 33mg; CARBOHYDRATE 55.8g; SODIUM 198mg; PROTEIN 4.6g; FIBER 1.5g

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2002

Comments

[Gloria]

I'm having trouble with the link to your pecan and date tart. Can you have a look at it?

[Rachelino]

Gloria-
that link appears to be broken! Sorry about that. I will post the full text of the recipe and refresh the link to the recipe.
Rachel

[Felicity Kijana]

Nice recipe and great-looking photos.

What type of camera do you use?

Felicity Kijana

[Rachelino]

Thanks,Felicity! I do not have a fancy camera (though I want one!!) I use a Canon PowerShot SD 1100, a simple point and shoot, but I love it dearly. I had it repaired by Canon after dropping it a few months ago and it still works well. You can buy the newer generation of the powershot (1200) for about $150 USD.