Hail Ceasar

The only reason for the title of this post is a put a crown on my pie. Pecan pie is no where closely related to anything from the Roman Empire. But hey, if it has a crown, it might as well be of Ceasar.

This Maple Butter Pecan Pie is so rich and delicious, it is guaranteed to convert any anti-pecan pie into a huge fan. It doesn't only taste good, it's also a beauty that will surely impress. You will need a small leaf cookie cutter for the decoration.


For the crust, please click here for a recipe. Half the recipe fora single 9-inch crust. Blind bake the crust and save any scrap for the decoration.

To blind bake a crust, transfer the crust onto a 9-inch pie dish. Trim the crust to the rim of the pie plate, leaving no excess. Crimp the edge using a folk. Line the pie dish with foil and chill for an hour. Preheat oven to 400. Fill foil-lined crust with beans, rice or pie weight. Blind bake the crust for 18-20 minutes or until set. Remove beans or rice. Return the crust to oven and bake another 5 minutes. You can reuse the beans or rice for baking but probably not for cooking.

For the filling:
8 oz. pecan halves, toasted
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/2 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325.

Heat brown sugar, maple syrup, corn syrup, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. In a bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla together. Pour into the egg a little of the hot sugar mixture while whisking to temper the eggs. Slowly whisk in the rest of the sugar mixture and melted butter.

Spread pecan into the cooled blind-baked crust. Pour in the Maple Butter filling.

Spread out the reserved scrap from the pie crust. Cut out little leaves with a cookie cutter. Score the leaves to make veins. Brush the edge of the pie crust with some water or a beaten egg. Place leaves around the edge, brush them with some egg. Bake the pie for 35-45 minutes or until the center is set. Serve at room temperature