Chocolate Pecan Pie with Honey

A few months ago, I was losing my mind at the Ikea store in Dubai. Apart from buying a whole bunch of super cute, completely unnecessary things (or are wall hooks shaped like chairs integral to one’s existence?), there was a pecan pie at their cafe that may have been my favourite bit of that day. It blew my mind. I think it was the first time I’d tried pecan pie and it was spectacular. But somehow, I forgot all about it until recently when my Mom got me a bag of pecans from a trip to Australia. Since pecans aren’t really found easily in India and therefore tend to be expensive, they’re not something I bake with. But here was a bag of toasty, nutty pecans waiting to be eaten. Enter, this pie with a good dose of dark chocolate, plus whiskey and aaaalll the pecans the dish could fit. It’s AMAZING! I can’t unfortunately remember if it’s exactly like the one at Ikea but it blew my mind just as much as that one did.

With a flaky, buttery, homemade pie crust, this is really my new favourite pie. It’s perfectly balanced as far as the sweetness goes, packed with flavour and all kinds of textural fun is going on here. Let’s do this!

Pecans taste similar to walnuts but pecan pie has this reputation of being cloyingly sweet. It also traditionally uses corn syrup and a lot of it, and as I browsed recipes to understand how the filling is made, I kept wondering why everyone’s talking about how sweet this pie is and doing nothing about it. It turns out, corn syrup isn’t just for sweetness, it’s a thickening agent. Reducing it compromises how fast and how well the filling sets as it bakes. But these days, some recipes use maple syrup, another thing you don’t get easily in India, and so I thought I could make this work with honey too.

This New York Times recipe stayed with me because unlike a lot of other chocolate pecan pies, it didn’t just scatter chocolate chips on top, it melted down dark chocolate into the filling. Um, yum. But I also liked this Sally’s Baking Addiction recipe that thickens a maple syrup pie with a bit of flour. So I began, mixing and matching stuff depending on what was easily available here in India and more importantly, in my kitchen at that moment. I used a smaller amount of honey instead of the corn syrup along with brown sugar. Since there’s chocolate here, there’s three elements of sweet and I was afraid I’d land up with something achingly sweet but I promise, the sweetness here is just right. Where I ran into trouble was that this new version I experimented with wasn’t fully baked in the time I’d expected. It looked great and perfectly set on top, but when I cut into it, the center was just molten chocolate. I panicked thinking all of that work (and pecans!!) had gone to waste and that honey absolutely would not work as a setting agent. But a little more baking, lots of obsessive googling (which led to me this and made me realise all was not lost) and then lots of cooling and it was done. Thick, gooey and sticky, like a good pecan pie should be. I was so thrilled!

I also used a much more generous amount of pecans in my version. I mean, it’s pecan pie, so let’s make PECAN pie! Most recipes either scatter the pecans on top or bottom of the filling. I decided to do both, so that there’s plenty of crunch and texture in every bite and the whole things looks a little more even. It was a good decision!

The whiskey is optional but adds a lovely flavour and makes the whole thing taste more complex and interesting. I also added a bit of vanilla to combat any eggy flavours. A spoonful of unsweetened cream cuts through the richness of the pie and is hiiiighly recommended. So good!

This pie is a little bit of everything. Chocolatey, nutty, boozy, buttery and crispy. It’s the perfect pie for a celebration or holiday meal because you really do need people to share it with 🙂 It takes a while to come together and the pie crust needs to be pre-baked since the filling is so liquidy. But I promise it’s worth the effort because one bite and you’ll know why!

Chocolate Pecan Pie with Honey

Rich and gooey dark chocolate pecan pie made with honey not corn syrup, on a homemade flaky pie crust

Prep Time: 1 hour hr

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Makes: 8 large slices

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Ingredients

  

For the pie crust

• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (180 gms)
• 1/4 tsp salt, skip if using salted butter
• 2 tbsps caster sugar
• 115 gms unsalted butter, cold and cubed (1/2 cup)
• 2 tbsps ice cold water

For the filling

• 2 and 1/2 cups pecans (250 gms; see notes)
• 85 gms unsalted butter, at room temp (6 tbsps)
• 55 gms dark cooking chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup honey (170 gms)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (100 gms)
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 2 tbsps whiskey, optional
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 eggs, at room temp (see notes)
• Whipped cream to serve, optional

Instructions

• In a mixing bowl, stir the flour, salt and sugar together, then add the cubed butter. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs and there pea-sized bits of butter scattered through it.
• Slowly add the ice water and stir with a spatula to combine, then use your hands to bring it together in a soft dough. Place the dough on a large piece of clingfilm, flatten into a disc, wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least one hour. I actually prefer to make the dough the previous day and let it rest overnight in the fridge and keep the filling and baking for day two.
• Remove the chilled dough from the fridge, unwrap and place on a silicone mat. (You can also do this on a floured kitchen counter, but I prefer the mat to prevent sticking.)
• Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll out into a 12 inch circle. I like to do this with clingfilm on top because I find that in warmer temperatures, this prevents the butter from melting onto the rolling pin and making the dough messy.
• Transfer the rolled out dough back to the fridge for 10 minutes, keeping the top covered with clingfilm. (This is also where the silicone mat comes in handy, you can easily slide it onto a tray with the dough and place it in the fridge.)
• Lightly grease a 9" pie dish. To place the rolled out dough in the dish, fold it in half and then half again to make a quarter shape. Lift and place in the pie dish, then unfold and press it onto the sides and base. Trim the edges and use the scraps to patch up any bits that may have torn.
• Transfer the pie dish to the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 190 C.
• Prick the base of the dough with a fork several times. You will 'blind bake' the crust now so pricking it helps prevent the base from puffing up too much. You can also blind bake it by placing a piece of baking paper on the dough and filling it up with dried beans to weigh the dough down, but I didn't find this necessary.
• Bake for 20 minutes until the crust is lightly browned on the bottom and the edges. Set aside to cool while you make the filling.
• Lower the oven temperature to 175 C.
• Now it's time to start on the filling. First, spread the pecans out in a single layer on an ungreased baking tray. Place it in the oven for about 10 minutes until fragrant and toasted (but not burnt!). Set aside to cool.
• In a saucepan on low heat, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring constantly until smooth. If there are a few small lumps of chocolate left, turn off the heat and continuing stirring to let them melt down. Pour into a mixing bowl and let the mixture cool for 15 minutes.
• Now stir in the honey, brown sugar, cocoa, flour, vanilla and whiskey. Finally, whisk in the eggs one at a time until the mixture is smooth. Be gentle with this step, because beating too vigorously will cause a lot of air to b whisked in, and the filling will crack as it bakes.
• Now scatter half of the toasted pecans on the base of the pie crust. Pour the filling over, then scatter the remaining pecans on top, arranging them in circles if you wish.
• Place the pie dish on a baking tray and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the center appears set or has a very slight wobble.
• Lower the temperature to 150 C, cover the pie with foil and continue baking for another 30 to 40 minutes until a toothpick poked in the center comes out with only gooey, sticky sauce on it, no pure liquid. It will continue to set as it cools so be careful not to over-bake it. Depending on the honey and sugar you use, this baking time might vary, so it's helpful to do the toothpick test a couple of times.
• Let the pie cool completely at room temperature before slicing. During this time, any puffiness on the top will fall a little and if cracks formed on top, they will close up. Use a sharp knife to slice right through the pecans and the crust. Tastes best warm or at room temperature and can be stored covered for one day, but in humid areas, it's safest to place it in the fridge after that where it will keep for 4 to 5 days. Serve individual slices with a little unsweetened cream! The pie also freezes well. Happy baking 🙂

Notes

*Pecans usually come in halves, like walnuts (which make a good substitute here if you can't get pecans). If you would like to chop the pecans further to make the pie easier to slice, feel free but I like the texture that they provide when left whole. While I didn't use an Indian brand here, I find that for imported nuts, Miltop which is available in India, is priced a little better.

*I can't suggest a substitute for the eggs here as they are required to get the filling to set. In theory cornflour should help, but I haven't tried this pie that way. You might have some luck with vegan recipes online.

*Prep time does not include chilling and cooling time.

*Adapted from a New York Times recipe 

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