Chef Edward Lee believes bourbon can make a perfect match for a variety of foods, including this sweet, rich pie. “The whiskey has all the structure to stand up to the chocolate, the umami, the nuts, the sugar, all that—the caramel. But then, the sourness [of the lemon] is just giving you that burst of relief; you’re giving your mouth a little break from all of that heaviness,” he says.
Pair With: A Whiskey Sour
INGREDIENTS
Crust
- 1 ready-to-bake pie crust
Filling
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup dark corn syrup
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- 3 large eggs
- ⅓ cup melted butter
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 3 ½ oz. coarsely chopped dark chocolate
Garnish
- ¼ cup good quality whiskey (Lee recommends Jefferson’s Reserve Very Old Bourbon.)
Orange Whipped Cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 12 oz. heavy cream
- 1 tsp. orange zest
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk filling ingredients together, except pecans and chocolate.
Sprinkle pecans and chocolate on bottom of crust. Add filling to the pie crust. Bake for 45 minutes until puffed and set.
Cool completely at room temperature; don’t chill. Just before serving, brush 1/4 cup of your favorite whisky over the top of the pecan pie.
For orange whipped cream, combine the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until peaks hold their shape. Keep chilled until ready to use.
Serve pie at room temperature with a dollop of orange whipped cream.
