A question about a recipe: Spiced Maple Pecan Pie with Star Anise

Merrill is a co-founder of food52.

added 7 months ago

We here at Food52 all think this is a brilliant idea in theory, but we're all worried about the pumpkin custard overcooking during this process. Not sure how to remedy this. Sounds like a challenge for Christina Tosi!

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Sarah is a trusted source on General Cooking.

added 7 months ago

I think you'll end up with a curdled-looking pie - unless the custard is 90% set the topping will sink into the custard and end up looking rather unpleasant. (If you've ever mixed egg into fried rice without first cooking it, this is what I'm picturing for the pie). And if it is 90% set the pecan topping won't cook.

Why not make a maple pecan-star anise brittle for garnish? If you serve your pie with ice cream you could add the brittle on the side for a texture contrast.

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nzle added 7 months ago

Last year at Thanksgiving I made a half-pecan, half-pumpkin pie in the other direction -- two semi-circles. I made a little buttress out of aluminum foil, and it did a great job at keeping the layers from each other.

I will say, though, that the custard overbaked in the time that it took the pecans to set. Maybe make a test version before the big day!

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HalfPint added 7 months ago

You might think about baking the two parts separately. For example, bake the pumpkin pie filling the pie crust with only ~1/2 the volume of custard. Then bake the pecan pie without a crust. Channel Frankenstein and cut the pecan part and top the pumpkin pie. Yeah, it sounds like a major engineering feat, but I think you can do it.

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hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.

added 7 months ago

What if you do the pecan pie as the bottom layer, then the pumpkin custard as the top layer. I bet if the pecan pie sets up a bit, the nut layer on the top will help to keep the 2 pies separate, and I find pecan pie custard to be less troubled by over-baking. Heat the pumpkin custard on the stove top while the pecan pie part is baking to help decrease how much time it needs to finish in the oven. Do let us know if you give any of the ideas a try, and how it works out!

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Sadassa_Ulna added 7 months ago

I like the answers already given but here's my two cents: I would bake the pie half filled with pumpkin filling and as it cools sprinkle it with chopped pecans to act as... an edible buffer? Then let it chill in the fridge. Meanwhile I would cook the pecan filling over a double-boiler until very thick (this part I would test out before making the real one). When the pecan filling is cooled to lukewarm I'd pour it over the chopped pecans. The high quantity of maple syrup in the pecan filling concerns me (it might not thicken enough without the evaporative process of baking) so maybe I would substitute some of the syrup with pure maple sugar. Good luck with your experiment!

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