Equipment
Ingredients
pie dough
- 280 g all-purpose flour, unbleached
- 170 g unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1-cm cubes
- 15 g demerara sugar
- 5 g fine sea salt
- 75 ml ice water
- 5 ml apple cider vinegar
brown butter pecan cream
- 115 g unsalted butter, cubed, for browning
- 150 g pecans, raw halves or pieces
- 20 g all-purpose flour
- 100 g demerara sugar
- 2 egg, large, room temperature
- 30 ml heavy cream
- 15 ml bourbon
- 5 ml pure vanilla extract
- 2 g fine sea salt
sugared pecan topping
- 225 g pecans, whole raw halves
- 1 egg white, large
- 60 g demerara sugar
- 3 g flaky sea salt
- 1 g ground cinnamon
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbohydrates
- 29 g
- Fat
- 33 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 12 g
- Zinc
- 1.3 mg
- Water
- 18 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Combine 280 grams all-purpose flour, 15 grams demerara sugar, and 5 grams fine sea salt in the food processor bowl, pulsing three times to aerate and distribute ingredients.
Distribute 170 grams cold cubed butter over the flour mixture and pulse in 1-second bursts until the butter pieces are reduced to pea-sized morsels.
Combine 75 milliliters ice water and 5 milliliters apple cider vinegar, then drizzle through the feed tube while pulsing just until the dough forms loose clumps.
Turn the shaggy dough out onto a piece of parchment paper and press it firmly into a cohesive, flat rectangular block.
Wrap the dough block tightly in parchment paper and chill in the refrigerator for 60 minutes until thoroughly chilled and firm.
Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F) with a rack set in the center position.
Roll the chilled dough between two sheets of parchment paper into a 30-by-40-cm (12-by-16-inch) rectangle of uniform thickness.
Line a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper allowing 2.5-cm overhang on long sides, then fit the rolled dough into the pan, pressing gently into corners and 2.5 cm (1 inch) up the sides.
Dock the entire base of the pastry dough evenly with a fork at 2.5-cm (1-inch) intervals to prevent steam bubbles during baking.
Place the pan in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm the butter matrix and minimize crust shrinkage.
Line the pastry with parchment paper, fill to the top rim with pie weights, and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 20 minutes until the edges are set.
Carefully remove the parchment paper and pie weights, then bake the crust uncovered at 190°C (375°F) for 10 minutes until the base is dry and light golden.
Transfer the pan to a wire cooling rack and allow the par-baked crust to cool for 20 minutes at room temperature.
Melt 115 grams unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling constantly for 5 minutes as foam subsides and milk solids turn deep amber brown.
Pour the brown butter immediately into a heatproof bowl and let cool for 15 minutes until lukewarm to the touch.
Add 150 grams pecans and 20 grams all-purpose flour to the food processor bowl and process until ground into a fine, meal-like texture.
Whisk 2 whole eggs, 100 grams demerara sugar, 30 milliliters heavy cream, 15 milliliters bourbon, 5 milliliters vanilla extract, and 2 grams fine sea salt in a mixing bowl until homogenous.
Fold the ground pecan mixture and cooled brown butter into the egg mixture using a rubber spatula until an emulsified, spreadable cream forms.
Whisk 1 egg white in a clean mixing bowl for 1 minute until white, foamy, and lightly aerated.
Stir 225 grams pecan halves, 60 grams demerara sugar, 3 grams flaky sea salt, and 1 gram ground cinnamon into the foamy egg white until all nuts are evenly coated.
Spread the brown butter pecan cream evenly across the par-baked crust using an offset spatula.
Arrange the sugared pecan halves flat-side down in tight, neat rows over the entire surface of the pecan cream.
Bake tart at 175°C (350°F) for 32 to 35 minutes until the pecan cream puffs between the nuts and the center registers at least 71°C (160°F) on a digital instant-read thermometer.
Transfer the baking pan to a wire cooling rack and let the tart cool completely for 2 hours to allow the filling to set.
Lift the tart onto a cutting board using the parchment paper overhang and slice into 16 clean rectangles with a sharp chef's knife.
Chef's Notes
- Browning butter cooks out water content and toasts milk solids into rich hazelnut aromas, providing deep caramel notes that replace excessive corn syrup or cane sugar.
- Tossing whole pecans with whipped egg white before adding demerara sugar creates an ultra-crisp, candied shell that remains crunchy atop the tender cream.
- Grinding a small measure of flour with the pecans absorbs surface oils from the nuts, yielding an airy meal rather than an oily paste.
- Chilling the baked slab tart for an hour after reaching room temperature allows the cleanest, sharpest bakery-style rectangular cuts.
Storage
Refrigerator: 5 days — Store chilled in an airtight container or cover pan tightly with parchment and foil after cooling completely.
Freezer: 2 months — Wrap individual baked and cooled slices tightly in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. Thaw overnight in refrigerator before serving.
Reheating: Arrange chilled slices on a rimmed baking sheet and warm at 150°C (300°F) for 8 to 10 minutes until heated through to 74°C (165°F) and the pastry re-crisps.
Troubleshooting
Pastry sides slump and shrink down the pan during blind baking
Cause: Pastry was stretched while fitting into the pan corners or butter was too warm before baking
Fix: Cannot be fixed once baked; fill with cream as normal and proceed, keeping it as a slightly shallower tart
Prevention: Gently ease the rolled dough into the pan without stretching, and freeze the shaped crust for a full 15 minutes before baking
Brown butter pecan cream splits or appears oily before baking
Cause: Brown butter was added while still hot, melting the fat emulsion and curdling egg proteins
Fix: Vigorously whisk in 10 milliliters of cold heavy cream to re-establish the emulsion before spreading into crust
Prevention: Allow browned butter to cool to lukewarm room temperature before whisking it into the egg and ground nut mixture
Pecan topping browns too rapidly before center custard reaches 71°C (160°F)
Cause: Oven temperature hot spots or top heating element radiant heat scorching the demerara sugar
Fix: Tent the entire pan loosely with aluminum foil for the final 8 to 10 minutes of baking
Prevention: Bake on the middle rack and monitor color at the 25-minute mark
Cultural Context
Traditional Southern pecan pie developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, popularized across North America through commercially promoted dark corn syrup custards. This slab tart interpretation honors those classic holiday dessert flavors while utilizing French frangipane pastry technique, browning the butter, and introducing coarse demerara sugar to achieve sophisticated caramelized depth without cloying sweetness.
