Bourbon and maple Pecan Pie (tart)

Serves 10-12 (22cm fluted tart mould with removable base needed)

Ingredients:

Dough:

110g unsalted butter, room temperature

50g sugar

1 egg yolk

1/4 tsp. salt

170g plain flour

2-4 tbls. water

Filling:

50g browned butter

75g brown sugar

1 tbls. flour

1/2 tsp. fine salt

170g (1/2 cup) maple syrup

2 tsp. vanilla essence/extract

2 eggs, room temperature

1.5 tbls. bourbon

175g toasted chopped pecans + more whole raw pecans for garnishing

Method:

First, make your dough. In a mixing bowl using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix together the butter, sugar, salt and egg yolk just until combined. Add in the flour and mix with your hands until the mixture looks crumbly but it still dry. Add in 2 tbls. water and then mix to bring the dough together. Add a bit more water 1 tbls. a time if needed until it holds together. You can wrap and chill the dough if its warm where you are but if it nice and cool you can roll this out straight away. Roll out thinly and lift dough and gently place into a fluted tart mould with removable base. Press into all the edges of the mould and trim the edges. Save excess dough for patching any cracks or holes which may arise. Place the lined tart mould into the freezer for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 175C. place a piece of baking paper onto the dough and drop some pie weights or dried beans or rice onto the baking paper and bake the dough for 20-25 minutes until the edges start to becomes golden. Then, remove the baking paper and the pie weights and continue baking the pie base for a further 10-20 minutes until the entire thing is golden brown. If your base is puffing up, poke a few holes in it using a fork. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool. If you see any cracks or holes (including ones you made with a fork), press a small piece of the reserved into the dough to seal it shut.

To make your filling, first brown your butter in a small pot on the stove over medium heat until its deeply caramelised. Allow it to cool a bit before combining with remaining ingredients. Pecans can be toasted in a 175C oven for approximately 10 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together brown sugar, 1 tbls. flour, salt, vanilla, bourbon, maple syrup and eggs. When butter has cooled, add in to the remaining ingredients and then stir in the chopped toasted pecans. Place the whole raw pecans on the top and then place the whole thing on a tray and into the 175C oven and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes until the filling is “set” and slightly puffed. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool. Serve with unsweetened whipped cream.