Pecan pie

To go with our American cornbread and chilli today, I made another classic American dish for dessert – pecan pie.  This was delicious and lasted well for days.  In fact, I think it got better over time, as the filling solidified more.  I’ll definitely be making this again – even if I’m not so convinced by the concept of cornbread!

Ingredients

8 oz ready-made shortcrust pastry

2 oz brown sugar

10 oz golden syrup

4 oz unsalted butter

2 tbsp dark rum

3 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp salt

10 oz pecan nuts, chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and butter a 9 inch round pie dish. 
2. Roll out the dough and fit it into the prepared pie dish, trimming the excess dough from the top.  Refrigerate  until needed.
3. In a heavy-based saucepan, combine the sugar, golden syrup, butter and rum and slowly bring to a boil over medium heat.  Boil for about 1 minute, stirring constantly and scraping back any foam that clings to the sides of the pan.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.
5. Once cooled, add the beaten eggs to the mixture and stir well.
6. Stir in the vanilla, salt and pecans.
7. Pour the mixture into the pastry case and  bake for 40-50 minutes - the pie will be golden-brown, but the filling should still be slightly wobbly.
8. Leave to cool completely in the dish placed on a wire tray.