Homemade Pecan Pie – Pareve version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Tart shell

1. 1
   Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.

   Bowl
2. 2
   Add the cold margarine in cubes and rub it in with your fingertips, until coarse crumbs form.

   💡The margarine must stay cold: margarine that melts in your hands gives a hard dough instead of a crumbly one. Work quickly, and if the dough warms up, put it back in the fridge.
3. 3
   Add the cold water and quickly bring together with your hands, without kneading, just until the dough comes together.

   💡Knead as little as possible: long kneading develops gluten, and the dough comes out tough and shrinks in the oven.
4. 4
   Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.

   ⚙ Wrapping and Chilling the DoughPlastic wrapRefrigerator

   💡Chilling firms the margarine and relaxes the gluten: the dough rolls out easily, doesn't stick to the counter and doesn't shrink in the oven.
5. 5
   Roll out the dough and line a 23 cm pie pan with it, sides included. Prick the bottom with a fork.

   ⚙ Rolling Out DoughRolling pin

   💡Roll from the center outward and give the dough a quarter turn between rolls: this keeps it even in thickness and stops it sticking to the counter. If it springs back, cover for 10–15 minutes and try again.
6. 6
   Top with parchment paper and weights (or dried beans) and bake in an oven preheated to 180°C (355°F) for 10 minutes.

   Parchment paperOvenTart / pie pan

   💡The weights keep the dough from puffing up and shrinking from the sides: without them the bottom bubbles and the shell comes out lopsided.

To assemble

1. 7
   In a bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, syrup, margarine, vanilla and salt until smooth.

   BowlWhisk
2. 8
   Scatter the pecans over the bottom of the baked shell.
3. 9
   Pour the filling into the baked shell, over the pecans.

   💡Pour the filling only into a baked shell: a liquid filling on unbaked dough makes the bottom soggy.
4. 10
   Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C (355°F) 35–40 minutes, until the filling is set and the center still jiggles slightly.

   ⚙ BakingOvenTart / pie pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
5. 11
   Cool completely, a few hours, until the filling sets.