South Texas Palm Sugar Pecan Pie

Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F).

Spread the raw pecan halves evenly across a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8 minutes until fragrant and lightly darkened.

Grate the solid palm sugar using the fine side of a box grater until reduced to a soft, sandy powder without hard pebbles.

Combine all-purpose flour, cold unsalted butter cubes, and 3g fine sea salt in a mixing bowl, working the mixture with a pastry blender until pea-sized butter flakes form, then gradually add ice water until the dough just comes together.

Shape the dough into a flat disc, wrap tightly, and place in the refrigerator to rest for 60 minutes.

Roll the chilled dough on a lightly floured work surface using a rolling pin into a 30 cm circle of uniform 3 mm thickness.

Ease the rolled pastry into a 9-inch pie dish, crimp the decorative edge, and dock the bottom lightly with a fork to prevent air bubbles.

Line the pastry with parchment paper, fill to the top rim with pie weights, and bake at 175°C (350°F) for 20 minutes until the edges are set and matte.

Whisk together the grated palm sugar, cane syrup, melted unsalted butter, large eggs, bourbon, vanilla extract, and 2g fine sea salt in a mixing bowl until completely unified and smooth.

Scatter the toasted pecans across the warm par-baked crust base and gently pour the custard filling over the top, letting the nuts float naturally to the surface.

Bake the pie on the center rack at 175°C (350°F) for 50 minutes until the edges are puffed and the center registers 93°C (200°F) on an instant-read digital thermometer.

Transfer the pie dish to a wire cooling rack and cool completely undisturbed for 2 hours at room temperature until the custard is set firm enough to slice cleanly.