Coffee Chocolate Cinnamon Pecan Pie

I’ll let everyone get over the mouthful of this pie name before we begin….

Ok we’re back.

I adapted this recipe from the Magpie book (a beautiful book with SO MANY DIFFERENT PIES) after seeing it and instantly saying “I need to make this” and I’m so glad I did.  It sounds weird, but I think the best way I can describe this pie is how the Union Station Go Concourse used to smell.

Stay with me.  Remember when the sweet, sweet Cinnabon aroma co-mingled with the Tim Hortons coffee until you said screw it and had to buy a cinnamon bun?  Imagine that in pie form with pecans and chocolate thrown in.  All the flavours here are great by themselves but are REALLY INSANELY DELICIOUS when put together.

This was quite the epiphany for me as I typically find coffee desserts overrated, but this pie absolutely thrives on it.

I adapted the steps of the recipe to my butter, sugar and spice, eggs, pecan order and I loved the silky texture it gave.  Try it!

Crust Ingredients (note: to have enough crust for pretty braids, multiply the quantities below by 1.5)

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (straight from the fridge, cut into 1 inch pieces)
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 2 tbsp vinegar (I use cider vinegar, mix it in the water)

Filling Ingredients

• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 oz bittersweet chocolate (about 60% cocoa)
• 1 cup golden corn syrup
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp instant espresso powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves
• 1 egg plus 1 tsp water whisked together for egg wash

Steps

To make the crust, mix together flour, sugar and salt.  Using a pastry blender, “cut” in the butter. This means you’re almost mashing the butter into the flour with the blender, ensuring all butter is covered in flour until the butter pieces are about the size of peas or a bit bigger.

Then, splash in a bit of your water mixture (2-3 tablespoons) and mix it around with your hand.  Continue to add a little at a time and mix and squish with your hand until a large dough ball forms.  If you need to get a bit more binding, add a bit of water to your fingers to help it along.  Don’t feel compelled to use all the water, mix it in until just combined and the dough is holding together. Flatten dough into a disk and wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour (if you made 1.5x dough, split into two discs with one half the size).

Once your dough has rested,  roll it out on a floured surface until it is just over a foot in diameter.  If it’s a bit of a wonky shape, cut a bit off one side to add to the side that needs it (use a fork to blend the sides together).

Fold the circle in half and place in a buttered pie pan, ensuring there aren’t any spaces between the dough and the corner of the pan.  There should be about 1-2 inches of dough overhanging, roll/fold this dough UNDERNEATH itself, on top of the pan rim so there’s a little dough ledge.  To get a lovely crimped crust, pinch and push as shown below:

For a braided crust, trim any overhanging dough and lightly press the dough edge with the tines of a fork for texture (will help braids stay secure).  Lightly brush the edge with egg wash and arrange your braids on top of the edge, pressing down lightly.  Use dough cutouts to cover any braid connections, lightly brushing the back of the cutout or top of the braid connection with egg wash to stay secure.

Place the pie in the fridge for 30 minutes and then prick it all around with a fork (~20 times).  Place in the freezer until solid (10-15 minutes).

Wrap the pie in foil ensuring there are NO SPACES between foil and dough and weigh it down it with uncooked rice, beans or ceramic pie weights, mainly around the sides (this minimizes crust shrinking).  Bake at 425F for 20 minutes until the crust sets.  Remove pie weights and foil and brush the bottom and sides of the shell with egg wash.  Return shell to the oven (no foil) and bake for 3 minutes until the egg wash sets.  Cool completely.

To make the filling, melt butter and chocolate together in a large heat proof bowl over a pot with an inch of gently simmering water, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and add corn syrup and brown sugar and stir vigorously until smooth and creamy, a couple of minutes.  Scrape down the bowl with a spatula as needed.  Add espresso powder, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and stir to combine.

Add eggs one at a time, stirring until incorporated and smooth.  Stir in pecans.  Rap the bowl against your surface a few times to pop any bubbles that formed beneath the surface.  Pour filling into cooled, pre-baked pie shell and brush the top of the crust with more egg wash.

Place pie on a baking sheet and bake at 400F for 15 minutes.  Rotate pan and lower heat to 350F, baking for another 20-25 minutes.  If after the first 15 minutes you’re concerned about any parts of crust that are too brown, cover them in foil.

The pie is done when the filling is puffed on the edges and middle and the centre is no longer liquid.  It may jiggle like gelatin when tapped, but not very much.  Allow to cool for 2-3 hours.