This was my first attempt at making a pastry based dessert. I usually stick to a light and fluffy sponge cake. However, I decided to try my hand at this Maple Pecan Pie as it is one of my favourites.

I suggest blind baking the pastry first for around 5 minutes so that the bottom does not come out soggy and undercooked. It is ridiculously delicious served warm with lashings of double cream!

Pecan Pie Whole, originally uploaded by Food For Think.

Cream cheese pastry
For a 23cm/ 9in tart tin

115g full fat cream cheese (I used Philadelphia)
115g butter, softeed
170g plain flour
pinch of salt

1. Mix the butter and cream cheese together – until just combined. Make sure you don’t beat
2. Sift the flour and salt over the cream cheese and butter mixture and stir in
3. Place pastry between 2 sheets of clingfilm or greaseproof paper and roll out – the pastry should be just a few mm thick.
4. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes
5. Remove one piece of clingfilm and use the other piece to ease the pastry into the tin
6. Chill in the fridge until firm and remove the other piece of clingfilm before blind baking
5. Blind bake in an oven on 200C/400F/gas mark 6 for 5 minutes

Maple Pecan Filling

200g pecan nuts
55g butter
115g dark muscavado sugar (I like Billington’s unrefined)
150ml maple syrup
150ml golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 eggs, beaten

1. After removing the lined baked pastry case from the oven, place a sheet of baking paper onto a baking tray in the oven. Keep at the same temperature
2. Put aside 100g of pecan nuts (these will be used for the topping) and roughly chop the rest
3. Melt the butter and sugar. Stir in the syrups, vanilla and chopped nuts. Leave the mixture to cool to room temperature and then stir in the eggs
4. Remove the baking tray from the oven and place the pastry lined tin on top. Pour in the filling and then scatter the left over nuts on top (you can either scatter them roughly or place them neatly)
5. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 and bake for another 30 minutes. Make sure that the center is just set, if not, leaving for a little longer
6. Serve warm with double cream