Pecan Tart

Another pie/tart flavor I've wanted to try for a long time... pecan. There's nothing better than a perfect piece of pecan pie, and nothing more disappointing than one that isn't quite right.

Out of all of my cookbooks, I chose the recipe from "American Desserts: The Greatest Sweets on Earth", by Wayne Harley Brachman. Did you ever watch him waaaay back when on the show "Melting Pot"? He has such a fun personality, I wish he was still on FoodTV. He was voted one of the Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America by Chocolatier/Pastry Arts & Design Magazines, 1998. Pretty good for a guy who is self taught and has never taken any cooking classes.

He inspires me and gives me hope.

Anyway, about the tart... how was it?

Excellent! I don't think I need to bother trying any other recipes.

Because I was playing around with mini-tarts, I scaled the recipe back and only made one. And to up the experimentation factor, I baked it in my toaster oven, if you can believe that. I worked just fine, I'm happy to report.

I'll post the recipe here, but I urge you to pick up this book, it has some fantastic recipes.

Pecan Pie

3/4 C. sugar
4 large eggs
1 C. dark corn syrup (I used Lyle's golden syrup)
2 T. dark rum
1 T. vanilla extract
4 T. unsalted butter, melted

2 C. pecan halves

Nine-inch pie or tart shell of your chosing, blind baked

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, with rack in the middle.

In a large bowl, lightly beat together the sugar, eggs, corn syrup, rum and vanilla, just until mixed. Stir in butter.

Place pie or tart shell (still in ring) on a rimmed cookie sheet to catch drips. Spread pecans on bottom of shell.

Cover with the egg mixture, ensuring all pecans are covered.


Bake for 30 minutes or until tiny bubbles appear around the edges and the center looks barely set. Cool cookie sheet and pie or tart on a cooling rack.

Get a fork and dig in!