Maple Pecan Pie with Soured Cream Pastry

Two things got me thinking about Pecan pie last week. Firstly, American pies were the showstopper challenge on last weeks Great British Bake Off, one of my fave programmes at the moment. And, secondly the change in the weather - cool misty mornings and shorter evenings - means lovely seasonal autumn foods and flavours are back on the menu.
The sweet nutty filling goes really well with this soured cream pastry which is deliciously buttery, almost flaky, with just a hint of sweetness. I've coarsely grated the butter into the flour which cuts downs on the rubbing in and adds to the lightness and flakiness of the finished pastry. Any trimmings are well worth re-rolling and baking as jam tarts or cut into shapes for biscuits.

Serves 8
Makes one 23cm tart
Takes about 45 mins plus pastry chilling time

Soured cream pastry:
225g plain flour
25g icing sugar
Pinch of salt
175g firm chilled butter
6 level tbsp soured cream (a small 150ml pot will be enough)
Filling:
100ml maple syrup
50g butter
75g light muscovado sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g pecan halves
3 eggs


1 To make the pastry, place the flour, icing sugar and salt in a bowl. Coarsely grate the butter into the bowl, tossing it in the flour every now and again to stop it forming large clumps. Add the soured cream and mix to form a soft dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 mins.
2 While the pastry is chilling, gently heat the maple syrup, butter, sugar and vanilla extract in small pan until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Cool slightly.
3 Heat the oven to 190C, Fan 170C, Gas 5. Roll out the pastry and use to line a 23cm tart tin. Trim off any excess and crimp the edges. Save any pastry trimmings, they can be re-rolled, cut into shapes and baked as biscuits. Keep about one-third of the pecans as halves, roughly chop the rest and scatter them over the pastry base. Beat the eggs into the maple syrup mixture and pour over the chopped pecans. Scattter the pecan halves over the top and bake for about 25 mins until the pastry is golden and the filling is just set. Serve warm or cold with ice cream or whipped cream with an extra drizzle of maple syrup.

Courgette Pizza Tart with Olive Oil Pastry

The courgettes and runner beans are coming thick and fast on our allotment but I'm really envious of these wonderful chillies my brother-in-law Fred has grown. He's got loads and has very generously given me some.

My attempt at growing peppers this year has been pretty pitiful by comparison so I've given one of my plants to Fred to see if he can work his magic. I've been trying to grow Padron peppers which are the small Spanish peppers fried whole and served as tapas - most of them are mild but the sting in the tail is that one in 15-20 is fiery hot so it's a bit of a Russian pepper roulette when you eat them.
The combination of courgette and chilli sits happily on this easy olive oil pastry base and I've added a sprinkle of chopped chorizo for a delicious smoky sausage hit.  Using olive oil in the pastry instead of butter means it's very quick to mix as there's no rubbing in.

Serves 2
Makes one 25cm tart
Takes about 45 mins plus pastry chilling time

Olive oil pastry:
170g plain flour
Pinch of salt
4 tbsp olive oil
1 medium egg
1 tbsp cold water
Topping:
3-4 tbsp pizza topping sauce (I used M&S new Margherita pizza sauce)
1 medium courgette, thinly sliced
1 chilli, deseeded and chopped
125g pack mozzarella, drained and sliced
90g pack diced chorizo (again M&S)

1 Place the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the olive oil, egg and water and mix to form a dough. If it feels a bit dry add a little more water. Knead lightly until just smooth, wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins.
2 Heat the oven to 200C, fan 180C, gas 6. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to make a thin round approx 25cm in diameter. Place on a baking tray and spread the pizza topping sauce over the top.   Cover with the courgette slices, sprinkle over the chilli and finish with the mozzarella and chorizo. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for 15 mins until the base is crisp and the mozzarella is starting to brown.