Browned butter pecan nut pie is such a pie that when it is on the table reduces your willpower to zero, you keep eating it. In fact, you probably already start when it comes out of the oven warm and you only stop eating and feasting when the cake is finished, afterwards it turns out that this happened in a surprisingly short time. We therefore recommend that you only make this cake when you are accompanied by a number of equally eager dinner companions who always highly value your cooking and baking, that way you can be sure that you are not the only one with a feeling of guilt. stays! Are you coming into the kitchen?
Magic ingredient
The magical ingredient in this pie is browned cream butter, it adds a nutty, buttery and toffee-like flavor to this American dessert pie without overpowering it. The recipe comes from the south of the US where the majestic pecan tree naturally occurs and where the pecan pie has been eaten since time immemorial.
The chocolate decoration on this cake completes the taste effect, this cake is irresistibly delicious and is therefore one of the favorite desserts at a festive occasion such as Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November when America is eating turkey en masse and from a religious tradition our dear Lord thanks for the harvest and all other good things!
Corn syrup
The recipe uses corn syrup, a typical American fructose corn starch syrup that is widely used in food and beverage manufacturing in the US because it does not crystallize as quickly as sugar (glucose) and because it is generally cheaper than sugar. It is also sweeter than sugar. Reform stores and the larger Albert Heijn stores sell Lyle’s golden syrup, you can also use maple syrup that can be found at a Toko.
Recipe for Browned Butter Pecan Pie:
Ingredients for the dough:
- 375 grams of flour
- 200 grams of butter
- 200 grams of brown sugar
- 1 sachet of baking powder
- 1 egg
- pith from 1 vanilla pod
Ingredients for the filling:
- 130 grams of butter
- 100 grams of sugar
- 240 ml corn syrup
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
- pith from 1 vanilla pod
- pinch of salt
- 200 grams of pecans
For the chocolate decoration:
- 50 grams of dark chocolate in pieces
Preparation of the dough:
- Mix flour and baking powder together,
- sieve this over a large mixing bowl,
- add the sugar, the diced butter, egg and vanilla,
- knead the dough in the food processor or with a mixer with dough hooks,
- When everything is well kneaded, form a ball of the dough and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes,
- Then grease a baking tin with butter and fold in the dough, press well on the edges.
Preparation of the filling and baking the cake:
- heat in a saucepan over low heat while stirring the butter until it starts to brown after a few minutes,
- the butter is ready when it is unmistakably fragrant and has turned a light caramel color,
- now remove the butter from the heat and let it cool,
- In a mixing bowl, mix together sugar, corn syrup, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla pith well with a whisk,
- chop the pecans coarsely and add, keep 12 whole nuts for garnish,
- now also mix in the cooled browned butter until you have a nice homogeneous mass,
- pour the filling over the dough in the cake tin,
- put the 12 whole nuts you saved on the cake and bake for 55 to 65 minutes at 165 ° Celsius,
- The cake is good when the filling in the middle is still slightly soft but no longer runny,
- Let the cake cool down now before you apply the chocolate decoration on it.
Decorate with chocolate
- Put the chocolate in a plastic bag that you tie tightly at the top,
- put the bag with the chocolate in the microwave for 1 minute or a few seconds longer until the chocolate has melted,
- now cut a tiny corner piece from the bag in one of the corners with scissors,
- now press the chocolate out of this hole and practice on a plate before putting it on the cake,
- decorate the cake with a chocolate pattern of your choice, diagonal lines or circles, whatever you want.
Serve the cake with a whipped cream and as they say in America: “Happy Thanksgiving”
Worth knowing about the pecan nut
The pecan tree, Carya illinoinensis, is native to the southern United States, it is a deciduous tree that belongs to the walnut family and can reach a height of 40 to 50 meters. The tree blooms with yellow-greenish flowers and the fruits look a bit like the fruits of the walnut tree. As with the walnut, over time the soft outer shell bursts open, revealing the hard seeds. When these seeds are broken open the soft edible core emerges which we know as pecan nut. These seeds are eaten untreated or roasted and salted.
The wood of the tree is hard and has a beautiful pattern, it is used in America for parquet and furniture. Pecan trees can also grow in our climate, but given the dimensions that the tree eventually reaches, it is not suitable for the average city garden. Although the pecans were already collected and traded by the Indians, the cultivation was not started until after 1880. The trees have been planted in Australia, Brazil, China, Israel, Mexico, Peru and South Africa, but 90% of all pecans are grown in the United States harvested. Improved varieties often only want to have male or only female flowers, but it is special that they can change a few times during their life. Pecan trees can grow very old and bear fruit for hundreds of years and it is the national tree of Texas.
