Chocolate Pecan Pie

When you search for popular desserts, you almost invariably come accross David Lebovitz's blog. I can't remember what I was looking for when I found it, but it happened when I was planning mine. His post about food blogging, the advice, comments, links and policies on his blog, as well as his articles on Food Blog Alliance provide invaluable information for any aspiring (and established) food blogger. His funny, witty stories are captivating and, even though he is not vegan, his recipes and cooking techniques are a great source of inspiration.

Chocolate bourbon pecan pie has never been high on my to-do list because I don't drink (except maybe a breezer once in a blue moon) and so buying a whole bottle of bourbon just for a splash seems wasteful. David's pie looked so tempting that I decided to try it even without bourbon, after all I love chocolate and pecans. Being my first baked pie of this sort, I feared that the filling would either dry out or remain too soft to slice well, and the unbaked crust would not cook through. It turned out I worried for nothing. My biggest surprise was the biscuit-like crust. I didn't know what to expect, with all that vegan butter. Not only was it properly cooked, but its crunchiness and slightly salty taste contrasted wonderfully with the sweet, soft, almost fudgy chocolate filling. If you have doubts about making the pastry from scratch, don't worry, David's recipe works like a charm.

This recipe makes 2 x 18cm (7'') pies.
Adapted from Chocolate Pecan Pie by David Lebovitz.

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups plain white flour, sifted
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp unrefined caster sugar
• 125 g butter, chilled, cubed
• 4 1/2 Tb iced water

(I use regular teaspoon and tablespoon, not the measurements)

Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add the butter cubes and mix until resembling large crumbs (I used a hand whisk). Add the iced water and mix until incorporated. The resulting dough should be smooth. Shape it as a ball, wrap with cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Filling

• 3/4 pack (about 260 g) firm silken tofu (drain excess water)
• 1/3 cup agave nectar (I'm sure it tastes even better with maple syrup)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest (unwaxed)
• 2 heaped tsp egg replacer + 4 Tb cold water
• 3/4 cup chocolate (1 x 125 g chocolate bar (60%) broken into small pieces)
• 2 Tb butter
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans (about 30 halves)
• 2 x 15 whole pecan halves for decoration

• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
• Lightly toast the pecans and let them cool.
• Divide the dough in two, form balls and roll them out on a lightly floured surface into rounds that come about 1 cm higher than the sides of the tins. Transfer the dough into the tins without pressing it and crimp the edges with your fingers. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.
• Blend the silken tofu until smooth. Whisk the egg replacer with water until frothy. In a double boiler or microwave melt the chocolate with the butter (melt only half way, remove and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until completely melted, this way it doesn't become hot).
• Mix all the ingredients together and divide between the two tins.
• Decorate each pie with 15 pecans (more if you like) and bake for about 45 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the filling puffed up and dry on top.
• Remove onto a wire rack and let cool completely. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour for the filling to set properly. Remove the pies from tins, slice and serve.

Note: to make one large pie, please follow the amounts for the crust in David's recipe.

I wouldn't combine this pie with anything, but if you want to, David sugested vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (coconut whipped cream, of course).

Enjoy!

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