Pecan Pie

It is approaching that time of year, in the preamble to Christmas, when our overgrown colony across the pond celebrates Thanksgiving. It is a time that seems as an ungrateful outsider an excuse to eat food and drink, but I am sure there is more to it than that. Still, never really in need of an excuse anyway to fill myself with copious amounts of pudding, here we go...

One of the traditional things that is consumed for Thanksgiving is the Pecan Pie, a shortcrust pie base with a caramel style nut filling. We made a version to take to a potluck dinner and it went down sufficiently well to warrant sharing the recipe!

Ingredients:

500g pack sweet shortcrust pastry
75g butter
150g golden caster sugar
300g golden syrup
1 tsp salt
3 eggs, beaten
½ tsp vanilla extract
300g pecan halves
Splash of rum (optional)

Method:

To start, line a pie dish with shortcrust pastry - either a home-made pie crust if you really want to make one, or a ready roll packeted one (which is what I use, if it's good enough for Nigella etc etc) will work. It needs blind baking for the first 15 minutes, then 5 minutes to colour. So, begin by covering the pastry with a layer of baking paper or tin foil, and add baking beans (whether ceramic or dried chickpeas it matters not). Pop in a preheated 180°C oven for 20 minutes, and then remove the beans for a final 5 minutes.

During this time you can begin work on the filling. For this I use golden caster sugar, golden syrup, unsalted butter and a teaspoon of salt - although optional, the savoury edge that comes from the salt lifts the pudding no end. Heat the ingredients together slowly in a large heavy bottomed pan. As the butter starts to melt keep stirring the mixture, so that it doesn't burn. As the mixture starts to boil it will rise up the pan... keep stirring and allow to boil for a minute or so, then turn the heat off and leave to cool slightly. While you are waiting for it cool, mix together the eggs, vanilla extract, and pecans (keeping some aside to adorn the top prior to baking) and the rum, if using. I like to use a demerara rum that adds a lovely alcoholic sweetness to the pie, but any rum will work.

When you have all three elements ready, pour the still warm caramel into the eggs, stirring continuously to avoid curdling. At this point a waft of delightfully warm rumminess will fill the kitchen if you've chosen to take the boozy path. When everything is combined, pour the heady, sticky-sweet filling into the pastry case. Decorate the top with some pecans (these will toast lightly during the cooking time) and return to the oven for 35-40 minutes, until the pie has set. Leave to cool and the whole lot will further solidify. You can eat the pie straight away, or if you are so inclined store it in an airtight tin and eat within a couple of days. The pie should serve about twelve, with a helping of cream or dollop of ice cream.

Enjoy!

Jim

Karma Citra: Beer and Desserts

Relatively new to the growing Sheffield craft beer scene, Karma Citra are a group of beer enthusiasts who have recently started hosting an array of interesting events. This one was no exception - beer and pudding. Who can resist that?!

Held in the laid-back setting of Brewdog, we were greeted by "I hope you're hungry" - always a good sign when you're about to embark on a four-course meal of pudding!

We started on the "light option" - Buxton Far Skyline Berliner Weisse served with a lemon mousse. Unusually strong for this style of beer at 4.9%, initially I found the Buxton a little too sour for my taste - not something I'd usually go for. However after gobbling down some of the tart yet sweet lemon mousse (and getting a fair amount all over my face), the sourness softened and the fruity, hoppy characteristics of the beer came to the fore, making it deliciously palatable. The sweet and sour combination was ultimately a winner, and we scored it 9/10 - the bar had been set!

Second up was Weihenstephaner Hefeweisse, paired with a banana and peanut butter cheesecake. Hailing from the oldest brewery in the world, the Hefeweisse was tasty, if a little on the thin side - although the clean feeling it left on the palate was welcomed. However, again the dessert accompaniment really brought the beer to life and enhanced the banana-y flavour present in the style, and the two together worked really well. Score: 8/10.

We all needed a little bit of a rest after this, before the third offering was brought out - Magic Rock's collaboration with Norwegian brewery Lervig Aktiebryggeri - Farmhouse IPA, served with a carrot cupcake, with cream cheese icing. The beer was all classic IPA on the nose, with a great hoppy flavour and just a hint of citrussy spice. The spiciness of the carrot cake complemented this well and little hints of orange in there went nicely with the hoppy nature of the beer. A solid 7/10.

And then came the piece de resistance, and what a finale it was! Brewdog Cocoa Psycho brownie (Meghan's recipe can be found here) and a Sam Smith's Chocolate Stout float, with vanilla ice cream, a generous helping of squirty cream and chocolate sprinkles. The Cocoa Psycho gave a wonderfully sumptuous coffee and chocolate flavour and was just everything you could ever want from a brownie - the beer float was almost delicate in comparison! This whole lot came with a jug of cream on the side "to make it less heavy". That's my kind of pud. Full marks all round from the table-10/10!

From now on, I demand that all my drinks come as a float and that all my Sundays be decadent.

All gone!

Cheers,

Laura