Frozen Pecan Tart

December 18, 2015

I’d say that this is the best pecan pie I’ve ever had, and I’ve had lots. Why was this one different? I’d say it is a texture thing. The soft tooth of the pecans, the silky caramel custard against the thin and crispy crunchy pastry conspired to make a pecan pie experience that really worked for me. The real charm is that it is cold, which reduces the sensation being cloyingly sweet—a stroke of genius on Rose’s part, really. Overall, this pie sings a sweet note in my heart. I’ll go back to it next time a pecan pie is requested. Just a side note: I still have yet to find Muscovado sugar, so I used dark brown sugar instead. I imagine the flavor will be even more delicate with the correct sugar.

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Ingredients

Volume Grams Ounces

Instructions

SWEET COOKIE TART CRUST

As always, I made the pastry in my food processor. I guess it’s just a habit that’s turned into a preference. In spite of Rose’s suggestion to use plastic wrap or plastic bags when handling the dough, I like the feel of pastry in my hands. I learned to use the heel of my hand to incorporate the butter from the beginning, and it’s been successful for me. Still my old-dog-ways are “plastic.”

All that to say, the pastry came together easily and sat in the fridge overnight.

ROLL THE TART DOUGH

What? You want me to pull out (1) 8” cake pan, (1) 12” ring or disk, to “help” me fill my 9” fluted tart pan? Really? Oh grumble, grumble. I look at the picture again. Look how thin Rose’s finished pastry is. I take my drawer apart looking for the 12” removable bottom cake pan and make sufficient noise doing it (a real stress reliever for me). Now I’m “ready” to roll the pastry. I’m skipping the plastic wrap part. I roll the dough normally. Lay down my 12” disc and trim the excess.

and trim the excess. Lay the dough over the 8” cake pan.

Cover the dough with the fluted tart pan. Flip the whole thing over and lift the cake pan off the dough. “Oh. I see,” said the blind man. Look how perfectly the pastry tucked in the edge without handling the dough at all. Gees! Make a believer out of me. Go ahead. I then finished the edging and put the shell in the fridge to chill.

I baked it as instructed.

FILLING THE TART

First I hunted through my pecans to find whole, unblemished pecans.

The good pecans in the bowl; the extras on the right; the leftovers on the left.

I laid them topside up in the tart shell. Then I added a second layer of pecans thinking that more would be better. Then I took the second layer off thinking that too many pecans would ruin the texture.
The filling cooked up well.