I spent Thanksgiving with Imogen and Pierre at their house on the North Fork of Long Island. We had two pecan pies, one made in Brooklyn and the other in Orient. Both were excellent. This is my take, based on recipes I could find and what was to hand. It was a bonus to have treacle bought in Madeira made at the last working sugar refinery on the island. Pecan pie is indulgent but there’s nothing wrong with that.

240g sweet short crust pastry (155g plain flour, 80g butter, 5g sugar, 1 egg yolk)
450g pecans
3 eggs
150g caster sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
50g butter, melted
100ml black treacle (or a mixture of treacle and golden syrup)
25ml whisky (preferably Bourbon whiskey)

Oven 180°C

Start by making the pastry (see The Allotment Kitchen page 214 for method). Cover in clingfilm and leave in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Take 300g of the pecans and render them Grape Nut size either by machine or by placing them in a bag and giving it a good bash with a rolling pin.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the sugar and whisk a little more. Add the broken pecan pieces and stir around. Add the treacle, butter, whisky and stir again. Finally, fold in the whole pecans.

Roll out the pastry and place it in a greased 23cm diameter pie dish.

Pour the pecan mixture into the pastry case, trim the edges of the pastry and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the filling is clearly set at the sides.

Remove from the oven and leave for at least half an hour before serving. This is important as it will allow the centre of the pie to set.

Serve the pie warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.