I have mentioned my friend Patrick here before, that genial Irish-American epicure. We've just been discussing the differences between corn syrup (US) and golden syrup (UK), and during this discussion he asked me this question:

"Speaking of golden syrup, when I was in Ireland in 1999 with my foreign study group, we celebrated Thanksgiving together, and I made a pecan pie. They didn't have any of the items I was used to seeing, and I needed the closest thing I could get, so I got some sort of golden sugar syrup, which worked nicely... except that when one makes a pecan pie, one puts the pecans in the blind-baked crust, and then pours the filling mixture over, and when it comes out, the pecans are on top, the filling is underneath, and the crust is on the bottom. Given this process, there are only two ways the pie can come out: at best, the order (top to bottom) would be pecans, filling, crust. At worst: filling, pecans, crust.

Given that, can you explain to me how my pie (on two different occasions) came out: pecans, crust, filling?"

I told him I had no idea, but I know there are a lot of good cooks on the Fforum so perhaps one of you can help him!



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That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
(Llewelyn the dragon, Ozy and Millie)

Sarah

Not had a lot of experience baking-wise but I've had plenty of recipes go a bit wonky the first time out! Having to get an approximate ingredient is usually the start of things not coming out right when I've baked things. Blind baking makes things tricky, sometimes the base looks cooked and cohesive but something in the flour/whatever base is a but more porous than usual. Could be milled differently or not the right grade.

Or it could be the filling, something within the mix doesn't cook properly at the same temperature as everything else and seeps into the casing. And that doesn't even cover using an oven you aren't familiar with, where how quickly it heats up or whether it's got irregular heat dissipation can make a complete farce of your recipe.

With all those possible factors its amazing things can be consistent! :)

it sounds like the golden syrup may be thinner than our corn syrup and have more water in it and may have "wet" the crust so that the pecans slid through before the crust could solidify.

If he tries making it again, I would pre-bake the crust - covering the outer edge with foil and let the inside get very light golden brown then I would beat an egg white and brush that over the inside of the crust and bake for 5 more minutes. That will seal the moisture out of the crust but not change the flavor because there are eggs in the filling.

Then if the consistency of the filling came out correctly after baking before, I'd go with it as is. But I would probably let the whole thing bake for 10-15 minutes THEN add my pecans so they wouldn't sink so far.

One caveat though, he'd really have to watch the edges of the crust and keep them covered until the last 15 minutes or so of baking so they don't burn after all that pre-baking.

Thanks to both of you! I've posted your comments in my journal (under a cut so that everyone else reading it doesn't get bored) and I'll pass on anything Patrick has to say. Never fear, I fully intend to get him on the Fforum one day so you can talk to him directly. ;-)



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That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
(Llewelyn the dragon, Ozy and Millie)

Sarah