Cajun Pecan Pie
The following recipe and photography was provided by recipe developer and food photographer, Ashley Durand of Plate & Pen.
Growing up in Louisiana, I did NOT love pecan pie. There were actually a lot of holiday pies and dishes that I didn’t like, but this one took the cake.
Now that I’m older and my taste buds have changed, I’ve learned to love this pie. But let’s not get carried away, I’m still not on the apple pie bandwagon.
I’ve never gone all out when baking pies, but for this dessert, I made my own pastry crust with seasonal fall leaf cut outs and added to a typical Cajun recipe by using Heinen’s Silver Goat Cheese to give it a lovely pop of flavor.
Cajun Pecan Pie
Servings: 10
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2.5 oz. goat cheese
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup oat milk or regular milk
For the Filling
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3 Tbsp. flour
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 evaporated milk
- 2 cups whole pecans
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla paste
- 2 Tbsp. melted butter
Instructions
For the Pie Crust
- Sift flour, baking powder and salt together.
- Hand mix the goat cheese into the shortening until well blended and fold into the flour mixture.
- Add the egg and milk and stir to combine. You’ll need to use your hands to continuously press down on the dough. Since it’s a flaky crust, it is quite crumbly, but the moisture when pushed down will help it stay compact.
- Roll the dough into a ball and refrigerate for an hour, covered in plastic wrap.
- Roll out the dough to about a quarter of an inch thick and add flour to prevent sticking. You should have enough for 2 pies, but I usually make 1 cut out for a 9” pie pan and use pastry cut outs for decorating the pies.
- Butter and spray the pie pan.
- Flip the pan upside down onto flattened crust. It’s not a forgiving texture, so you will need to slowly lift the pie pan with the dough so that you can push it down into the pan once it’s right-side-up.
- Push the dough down over the lip of the pie pan so it’s nice and snug with no over hang.
For the Filling
- Set oven to 375°F.
- In a large bowl, mix sugar, flour and salt.
- Stir in corn syrup and melted butter.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
- Mix in the milk, pecans and vanilla paste.
- Allow to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Pour the filling into the pie pan with the pastry crust and add the lattice leaves or any other decorative pastry elements to the rim of the pie crust.
- Brush egg wash over the pie crust and lattice work. Bake the pie for 50 minutes.
- Remove from the oven after 50 minutes and use a tooth pick or knife to cut slits into the pie so that it cooks efficiently for the remaining 25 minutes.
- If the crust is browning too quickly, cover the rim with foil strips. After cutting slits and using foil (optional but recommended for the rim), place the pie back in the oven for 25 minutes.
Note: I like my pecan pie gooey. This isn’t to say this isn’t cooked! Pecan pies are like lava for 2 hours after baked, so they need to cool for 3-4 hours before serving. Let that goodness set under the outer shell of pecans. Feel free to serve with ice cream, if desired.
Interested in making this recipe? Order the ingredients online for Curbside Grocery Pickup or Delivery.
