Calling all dessert fanatics, this is one for you. Plucked straight from my column in ELLE's April issue, here's how to make the ultimate foolproof pecan pie...
Ingredients
1 sheet ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
200g dark brown sugar
150g golden syrup
100g unsalted butter
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
3 large eggs
200g pecans
9-10" pie/tart/flan dish
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C (or 160C for a fan oven).
Combine the sugar, golden syrup, butter, vanilla extract and salt in a saucepan over a very low heat, stirring until combined. Take it off the heat, and once it's cooled slightly you can beat in the eggs, one by one.
Roll the pastry a little so that it's just big enough to line the tin. Lift the pastry into the tin (using a rolling pin helps), patching up any holes or cracks with offcuts. Gently press the pastry just above the edges of the tin, so that the pastry stands proud of the rim by a few millimetres. Cut off any surplus. Chill the pastry for 30 minutes.
Toast the pecans in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Once toasted, roughly chop them (you can leave a few whole to decorate, if you want) and stir into the filling mixture. Pour the filling into the pastry case, being careful not to fill to any higher than a few millimetres below the top of the pastry, otherwise it'll spill over during the bake.
Bake at 180C (fan 160C) for 45 minutes.