Sluttery Christmas: Pecan Pie

No Christmas Pud for me, thank you very much. I am most definitely not a fan of the fruity boozy pudding. And whilst the flaming spectacle should, to me, always be present at the Christmas Dinner table, I am not one to indulge for the sake of finding a piece of silver. Instead I prefer the delicious sweet nutty goodness that is Pecan Pie.

It all began as an alternative dessert for myself and my equally fussy brother as we would not be sharing said Christmas Pud. But it has now become a tradition in my family and there will be at least of two of these in the oven on Christmas Day. Everyone argues over the last slice. Everyone.

Pecan Pie (serves 1, or  8 but it depends how generous you are feeling)

You will need:

• 1 Pastry Case (you can make your own but I cheated with a shop bought one)
• 100g Pecan Nuts, halved
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tbsp Milk
• 100g Demerara Sugar
• 100 ml Maple Syrup
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
• 35g Butter

Make it!

1. Preheat oven to 220C
2. Scatter the pastry case with the pecan nuts, and set aside.
3. Beat the eggs and milk together in a large bowl, then set aside.
4. In a small pan, heat together the sugar and maple syrup for about 3 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved.
5. Remove from the heat and slowly pour onto the egg mixture, stirring carefully.
6. Add the butter and vanilla essence and mix well.
7. Pour into the pastry case very carefully making sure not to overfill the case.
8. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes and then reduce heat to 170C. Bake for a further 25 - 30 minutes or until the topping has set. (keep an eye on this, the nuts can catch very quickly). 
9. Allow to cool a little before serving a slice with a large dollop of cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!