Homemade Pecan Pie with homemade date syrup (silan) – Vegan version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade date syrup (silan) ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Put the dates and water in a pot and bring to a boil.

   StovePot
2. 2
   Cook over low heat 5 minutes and mash the dates with a wooden spoon.

   Stove
3. 3
   Line a sieve with thin cloth and set it over a bowl. Pour in the mixture, press the dates with a spoon, gather the edges of the cloth and squeeze well.

   ColanderCheeseclothBowl
4. 4
   Return the liquid to the pot and reduce over low heat about half an hour, until to a thick syrup.

   StovePot
5. 5
   Let the date syrup cool.

   Jar

For the Tart shell

1. 6
   Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.

   Bowl
2. 7
   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. 8
   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. 9
   Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.

   Plastic 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. 10
   Roll out the dough and line a 23 cm pie pan with it, sides included. Prick the bottom with a fork.

   Rolling 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. 11
   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. 12
   In a bowl, whisk the flax eggs, sugar, syrup, margarine, vanilla and salt until smooth.

   BowlWhisk
2. 13
   Scatter the pecans over the bottom of the baked shell.
3. 14
   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. 15
   Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C (355°F) 35–40 minutes, until the filling is set and the center still jiggles slightly.

   OvenTart / pie pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
5. 16
   Cool completely, a few hours, until the filling sets.