I love pecan pie and I love chocolate – so the two of them together is clearly a winning combination. This tart is a perfect addition to my favorite holiday meal, Thanksgiving.
I first made this recipe about 20 years ago – back before my days of being wheat-free. And have made it many times since for Thanksgiving. If I had to choose I’d pick pecan over pumpkin or apple pie to finish off a fine Thanksgiving meal. The bittersweet chocolate balances out the sweetness of the pecans quite nicely.
Last Thanksgiving I decided to give it a try using a gluten-free crust that I had adapted for Pecan Squares (Gluten-Free). I used Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour – my go-to gluten-free flour – and it worked out perfectly. Not only was I very satisfied, but in a poll of the 15+ Thanksgiving guests at dinner that night, it was the winning dessert – beating out other homemade pies with ‘full of gluten’ crusts.
What made it even more special were the freshly picked pecans sent to me from Tennessee. I had never had ‘fresh off the tree’ pecans so I put in a special request to Mark and Peggy J. They very sweetly went on a hunt for me. What a treat to get a big box of pecans in the mail.
No need for a gluten-free dessert? No worries, as this tart can be made with the same quantity of regular all-purpose flour.
| Pecan-Chocolate Tart (Gluten-Free) | Print |
- 2 cups gluten-free flour or all-purpose flour (see Note)
- 12 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
- 2 egg yolks
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- ¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- ¾ cup light corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1-2/3 cups pecan halves
- For serving: freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
- In the bowl of a large food processor, place flour and powdered sugar. Pulse briefly to blend. Scatter butter cubes evenly over top of flour and powdered sugar mixture. Pulse to cut in butter until no lumps are visible and mixture resembles the texture of cornmeal. Add egg yolks and pulse to blend, mixing only until comes together (about a minute). Avoid overprocessing.
- Using your fingers, pat dough into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim. Chill shell for 30 minutes. Note that you may have leftover dough.
- Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals on medium in a microwave. Stir between intervals until melted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Spread melted chocolate on the bottom of the shell and chill the shell for an additional 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a heavy saucepan combine brown sugar and corn syrup, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring, and simmer it for 5 minutes.
- Let the mixture cool until it is no longer bubbling, add butter, and stir mixture until the butter is melted.
- In a bowl whisk together eggs, vanilla and a pinch of sea salt. Add syrup mixture in a slow stream, whisking.
- Add pecans evenly to shell, pour in egg mixture and tap down pecans to coat them with the egg mixture.
- Bake the tart in middle oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until the crust is pale golden.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Serve at room temperature with freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
- Keeps at room temperature for 2 days.
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