11 Jun Special Treat Bake: Pecan Pie with Cream or Yoghurt
This pecan pie is rich, sweet and nutty, so it’s best treated as a special-occasion dessert rather than an everyday budget bake.
Pecans and maple syrup can be expensive, but you can make the recipe a little more family-friendly by using fewer whole pecans on top and serving it with plain whipped cream, vanilla yoghurt or Greek yoghurt instead of maple cream.
Australian pecans thrive due to ideal conditions (hot summers and cold winters) and benefit from being virtually disease-free, meaning they can be grown without the pesticides often required in North America. You can find Australian-grown pecans at local retailers like Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi.
Serves: 8
Best for: birthdays, family lunches, festive meals or a bring-a-plate dessert
Ingredients
- 320g sweet shortcrust pastry
- 250g–300g shelled pecans
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 100g butter, melted
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
- ⅓ cup plain flour
To serve
Choose one:
- Plain whipped cream
- Vanilla yoghurt
- Greek yoghurt
- A small scoop of ice-cream, for a more indulgent treat
Method
- Roll the pastry to fit the base and sides of a 25cm flan tin.
- Press the pastry gently into the tin, trim about 1cm above the top of the tin, fold the excess over and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
- Place the tin on an oven tray. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork, cover with baking paper and top with dried beans or pastry weights.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and beans, then bake for a further 5 minutes, or until lightly coloured.
- Meanwhile, roughly chop most of the pecans, keeping only a small handful aside for decorating the top.
- In a bowl, combine the chopped pecans, eggs, melted butter, maple syrup and brown sugar. Sift in the flour and stir until smooth.
- Remove the pastry case from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 180°C.
- Pour the pecan mixture into the pastry case. Arrange a few whole pecans on top for decoration — you don’t need to cover the whole pie.
- Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until the filling is firm and set.
- Cool in the tin, then carefully lift out and slide onto a platter.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, vanilla yoghurt or Greek yoghurt.
Special treat note
This is not an everyday budget dessert, but it can still be a good option when you want a homemade treat that feels generous and celebratory. To keep costs down, use fewer pecans on top, serve small slices and skip the maple cream.
Main Image and recipe base sourced from Be Inspired Food Wine Travel with Roberta
