Baking Recipes,  David Lebovitz,  From the books,  Pies & Tarts,  Timeless Treats

Chocolate Pecan Pie for a farewell treat

Such a long overdue post, this one is. More than a month ago, one of my brothers flew to Taiwan for a Study Tour, but before he did, he had a request: Pecan Pie. But I didn’t want to make him just any plain old pecan pie. After some research, I came across this Chocolate Pecan Pie by none other than David Lebovitz, whose cookbook, Ready For Desserts, I just bought. A lot of other bloggers have mentioned how his recipes have never failed them, and I can’t wait to dive into the recipes in his cookbook, but I must say, this is an excellent start!

I can’t sing enough praises for this scrumptious pie. I had very high standards for the first pie I would feature on the blog because I don’t really make pies as often as I would like. Then this pie came along, and not a single complaint was heard that day. It was a great farewell treat, in my opinion. I’m sure all my brothers would agree.

One of the things I loved about the pie was the fact that I had no trouble with the crust at all. It was so easy to make and a charm to handle as well. The first time I made apple pie, my biggest problem was the crust. Everybody was looking for a deliciously flaky crust, but my first one was a bit tough and hard to cut. If you had asked me what I thought my biggest baking weakness was at that time, I would most likely answer, “Making pie crusts.” As I grew older and began understanding baking basics and techniques more, I began making pie crusts (and consequently, pies) with much more success.

While the recipe called for bourbon, I used Kahlua because it was what we had. Belonging to a household full of coffee lovers, the Kahlua added that perfect touch of flavor, melding with the chocolate chips and pecans smoothly to form a wonderfully moist and chewy pie. The chopped pecans rose to the surface as the pie baked to form a golden-brown crusted pie. It would probably be best to use bittersweet chocolate chips for the recipe just so the sweetness of the corn syrup and sugar would not be too overpowering.

And of course, what’s pecan pie without some vanilla ice cream?

This would have been a perfect post if only I had a recipe for some homemade vanilla ice cream to share with you, unfortunately, I don’t have an ice cream maker. Yet. But we’ll get there too I hope.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

While the recipe called for bourbon, I used Kahlua because it was what we had. It added that perfect touch of flavor, melding with the chocolate chips and pecans smoothly to form a wonderfully moist and chewy pie.

Makes one 9-inch pie

Ingredients

For the crust

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 115 g unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 4-6 tablespoons ice water

For the filling

  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup light corn syrup, rice syrup or golden syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 30 g 2 tablespoons melted butter, salted or unsalted
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon [I used Kahlua]
  • 1 2/3 cups 190g toasted pecans, very coarsely chopped
  • 3/4 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
  • pecan halves, for decorating

Instructions

To make the crust

  • 1. Mix together the flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. (Or use a food processor.)
  • 2. Add the cubed butter and mix until the butter pieces are broken up and about the size of small peas.
  • 3. Add the ice water and mix just until the dough comes together. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
  • 4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch round. Transfer the dough into a 9-inch pie plate, letting the dough ease into the pan rather than pressing it in. Tuck or cut off the overhanging dough, then crimp the edges and refrigerate until ready to fill.
  • 5. Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC) and position the oven rack to the center of the oven.

To make the filling

  • 6. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, syrup, vanilla, salt, melted butter, and liquor.
  • 7. Stir in the pecans and the chocolate chips and scrape the filling into the pie shell. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the filling puffs up slightly but still feels slightly jiggly and moist in the center. Let pie cool completely before slicing to allow filling to set.

Notes

Adapted from David Lebovitz

If I ever make pecan pie again, this would definitely be my go-to recipe. It’s that good! For pies like these, it’s important to learn how to patiently wait for it to cool before slicing, because the wait makes the pie worth it all the more.

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