Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Chocolate Pecan Pie Recipe by Angela Wenke

My Aunt brought over a YUMMY pie for our last Christmas
that we all fell in love with so I decided to share the recipe! We all love
Pecan pies in my family and this year my Aunt tricked us as we thought we were
getting ready to bite into her traditional pecan pie we all love so much only to
find out it was chocolate pecan pie! Can we say it was to die for!!! It was soo
delicious I hope you will love this recipe as much as we did.


Crust:

1-1/4 cups flour

Pinch salt

6 Tbsp. unsalted, cold butter, cut into slim pats

About 3 to 5 Tbsp. ice water


Filling:

1-1/3 cups pecan halves or large pieces

4 eggs, graded “large”

1 Tbsp. instant espresso powder

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 cup sifted or strained unsweetened cocoa powder

Pinch salt

1 cup light corn syrup


For Crust:

In medium bowl, combine flour and salt; stir to mix well. with two knives or
pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture is in fine crumbs. (This step can
also be done in a food processor fitted with a steel blade; pulse on-and-off
until butter-flour mixture is in fine crumbs, then turn into medium bowl.)
Gradually add just enough ice water so that pastry holds together. Form into a
ball, then flatten into a disk. Handle as little as possible. Wrap tightly in
plastic wrap; chill at least 1-2 hours. Roll out crust on lightly floured
surface with lightly floured rolling pin. Turn crust over frequently, and
lightly re-flour work surface and rolling pin as necessary. Crust should be
rolled into a circle about 13″ in diameter. Fit crust into ungreased, 9″ pie
plate of heatproof glass; form a high-standing rim, trimming excess from edges
and pinching or fluting rim decoratively as desired. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
F. Thoroughly prick crust all over with fork. Chill at least 10 minutes while
oven heats. Bake in preheated oven 5 minutes (crust will not brown). Remove to
rack and cool completely before filling.


For Filling:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. If your pecan halves are very large, break them
up a bit with your fingers; otherwise, use them as they are. Scatter them evenly
on the bottom of the cooled pie shell. In small bowl, with fork, beat eggs to
combine. Add espresso powder and beat to mix. Let stand at least 10 minutes,
beating occasionally to dissolve espresso. By hand, in medium bowl, cream
softened butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in cocoa and
salt. Add egg-espresso mixture one-third at a time, beating after each addition
until smooth. Stir in corn syrup. This “custard” will be thick–that’s OK. Pour
mixture slowly over pecans in pie shell. If any pecans do not get completely
covered by “custard”, submerge them until they do. Let stand 2-3 minutes; with
toothpick or tip of sharp knife, pierce any remaining air bubbles (during this
standing period, pecans may rise to top of pie–OK). Bake in preheated 400 degree
oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F; bake 33-37 minutes longer
(total baking time is 43-47 minutes), or until edges are cracked and risen but
pie center still quivers slightly when pie is shaken gently. Do not overbake. If
pie begins to brown excessively, cover top lightly with foil. Remove from oven;
cool on rack before serving.

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