I have been making this pecan pie for a decade and it doesn’t get old! This time around, I decided to add a layer of chocolate underneath the filling. In New Orleans, I tasted some pecan pralines dipped in chocolate. That is where the idea came from.

I spent 15 minutes diligently placing pecans around my pie for a perfect presentation, but yours will taste just as good if you just toss them on, I promise! I size this recipe for a deep pie dish, if you have a standard 8.5 inch tin, make 2/3 of the recipe.

Pecan Pie with Lemon Zest and Secret Chocolate Layer

pastry:
2 cups pastry flour (I just switched to White Lily, it’s worth it!)
12 tbsp butter
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Scant 1/8 cup ice cold water

filling:
1 cup whole pecans for topping
1 1/4 cup crushed pecans for filling
6 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup golden syrup (make your own by cooking down sugar, and some water with lemon slices)
3/4 cup brown sugar
5 eggs (3 if making 2/3 of recipe)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Zest of one lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice, about juice of one lemon
1 cup dark chocolate chunks

1. In a mixing bowl, place cold butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices. Add salt, sugar, and flour. Mix with your fingers, not a stand mixer! Do not over mix you want bits of butter to remain intact for a flaky crust. Overworking a crust is the #1 reason a crust turns out tough.
2. Add cold water, a little at a time, enough to just bring the dough together. Too much water is the #2 reason for tough crusts!
3. Gather into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Roll out the dough. I place some plastic wrap on a counter, flour it, and roll my crust out on there. That way, you can lift with the plastic, invert the pastry into your tin and trim without any breaks or tears.
6. Trim off any excess. I trim leaving about a 3/4 of an inch hanging over the top, then fold it down onto itself and squeeze with my fingers to raise the edges of the crust about a half an inch above the rim of the pan to accommodate for shrinkage during baking.
7. Either poke some holes with a fork or line with baking beans and bake your crust for 20-25 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, beat sugar, golden syrup, and butter together. Add eggs.
9. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice and zest.
10. Add the crushed pecans, mix. Set aside.
11. Line the pastry crust with chocolate chunks.
12. Lower heat to 350 degrees.
13. Carefully pour the filling over the chocolate.
14. Arrange the pecans on top.
15. Bake for 35-45 minutes or 25-30 minutes, depending on the size of recipe. It is ready when it does not jiggle too much when moved.

Total time: 2hr 15min