Hellooooo low FODMAP ginger and pecan pie. With a buttery, flakey crust thanks to Oast to Host and a gooey, sweet filling of dreams. This, my friends, is a pie you need in your life this autumn. The kind of pie you’ll make to take to a friend’s house and feel super proud and adult of yourself for. The kind of pie you’ll want to offer to everyone. TRY MY PIE you’ll shout. Really, it’s that good.
Award-winning Oast to Host kindly sent me another pack of their pastry mix and I knew I had to make something good with it. Last time I went savoury and made Diana Henry’s crab and tomato tart from How To Eat A Peach (FODMAP-friendly modified of course – check it out on my Instagram here) and it was delicious. I was so impressed with the texture of the pastry, which was totally forgiving of me and my warm pastry-making hands.
This time however, I fancied something sweet and as it’s all autumnal and lovely outside in the UK right now, I thought I’d make a pecan pie. I love pecan pie! I added a bit of ginger in the crust – partly because the only cookie-cutter I had to hand was a small gingerbread person and I wanted it to look extra pretty… – but also to mix things up and add an extra level of flavour. I toasted the pecans before adding them also, to bring out their sweet flavour and give an oomph to their texture. You want an extra bit of crunch to go alongside the smooth, custardy filling I think.
If you need any more persuasion to embrace the sweet or savoury pie making this autumn, I’m excited to say that the lovely people at Oast to Host are offering 50% off for all my readers with the code ‘shecanteatwhat50‘! Running until the 20th December (2018) – head over to their website now to try their pastry mix! It’s great for making mince pies too!
Ingredients
250g prepared Oast to Host shortcrust pastry made with 2tsp ground ginger (follow the method on the packet. If you’re not using Oast to Host, any other gluten free pastry recipe will work too)
100g pecan halves
100g dark brown sugar
1tbsp gluten free plain flour
50g butter, softened
3 eggs, whisked
140g maple syrup
1tsp vanilla extract
50ml single cream (lactose-free if needed), crème fraîche (lactose-free if needed), (or even ice-cream – I won’t judge) to serve
Method
Preheat your oven to 220˚C/fan 200˚C/gas 7. Lightly (gluten free) flour a surface and roll the pastry into a circle large enough to line a loose-bottomed tart tin 23cm (9in) round and about 1 inch deep. Gently lift the pastry on to your rolling pin and place on top of the tin. Press the pastry down into the tin, trim off the edges and crimp them in any way you fancy. Chill in the fridge while you make the filling.
Spread the pecans on to a baking sheet and put in the oven for about 6-8 minutes until slightly browned. Allow to cool, then roughly chop.
Mix the sugar and flour together. Beat the butter until soft and creamy then gradually beat in the sugar mixture. Slowly beat in the eggs a little at a time, followed by the syrup and vanilla (it will look curdled, but that’s OK). Stir in the cream and the chopped pecans.
Pour the filling mixture into the pastry case. Bake for 5 minutes, then lower the heat by 40C and bake for another 20-25 mins, or until the filling is set, a little puffy and showing a few cracks. Serve warm with cream or crème fraîche as mentioned in the ingredient list.
