Ah pecan pie, a beloved old friend. Useful at all times of the year and not just the Holidays. I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting lately on creating some old favorites like this one. Surprisingly pecan pie was actually the easiest to replicate out of the other catastrophes. I looked at some other recipes, including the one that Karo the corn syrup company recommends, and decided to simply replace their sweeteners with with maple syrup and coconut sugar for the filling.
I figured I might as well try to reduce the sugar content as much as possible, and that’s about as far as I could go. Lucky for me, it worked on the first try with a corn syrup and refined sugar free filling resultant.
In addition to my recipe testing I also decided to put this new cassava flour that I receive in the mail from Ottos Naturals to the test. They claim that it subs 1:1 for wheat flour, which is a pretty big deal for me. I worked it into an old pie crust recipe I found lying around the house, and it worked perfectly. Dare I say, almost a flakey-like texture. This leads me to believe that if I were to use lard instead of butter, and took the time to chill the dough I might’ve had a perfectly flakey crust. Too bad I’m impatient.
Don’t forget to share this pie with the ones you love because there is plenty of sugar to go around. It may be gluten free, grain free, and refined sugar free, but it is still a treat. Just kidding, eat it all. Pie makes my knees and self control, weak.
- 1½ cups cassava flour
- ½ cup cold butter diced into small cubes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg whisked
- ¼ cup cold water plus or minus 1 tablespoon depending on altitude/humidity
- 2 cups pecans chopped coarse, reserve a few whole pecan halves for decoration on top
- 1 cup maple syrup
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
- To make the crust whisk together the cassava flour and salt in a small bowl. Add the cold butter to the flour mixture and cut it in with a pastry cutter or fork until it resembles coarse corn meal or pea sized balls. Add the whisked egg to the butter flour mixture stir until combined then pour in the cold water and stir again until fully incorporated.
- Press the pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan so that is evenly distributed and flute the edges for presentation. Pour the chopped pecans evenly into the pie crust so that they form a flat layer at the bottom. They will float to the top when you add the filling.
- In a separate medium sized bowl for the filling add the eggs, maple syrup, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, salt, eggs, melted butter and whisk vigorously until combined. Pour the filling mixture into the pie crust mold and over the pecans.
- Carefully place the pie in the oven for 30 minutes then lightly tent the whole pie with foil to protect the nuts and crust and bake for another 20 minutes. Pull the pie out of the oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes, bringing it to room temp is best.
Looks amazing and so moreish Joshua!
This is stunning and looks TO DIE FOR. I’ve been playing with this flour as well, will have to give this pie crust a go!
This sounds amazing. I am a bit of a disaster when baking but I really want to try this one. Let’s hope I don’t make my house explode 🙂
Just want to chime in about this crust…I recently made it for the first time for an apple pie and pumpkin pies and it will now be my go-to crust! It was so light and flaky with a lovely buttery flavor and very easy to work with. Gluten eating family members loved it. I used only 1 cup of cassava flour instead of 1 1/2 and it was perfect. I purchased my cassava flour at an oriental market and it was much less expensive. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Thank you so much for letting me know how lowering the amount of flour worked for you! I’ll have to test that and adjust the recipe if it works better. Thanks again!
Becky, for the crust, did you pre-bake them? Most pecan and pumpkin pies call for pre-baking the crust but this recipe does not.. Any thoughts or suggestions?
I’m curious about the use of an egg in the crust. Is this necessary?
Can I use tapioca flour in place of the Kassava flour?
Unfortunately you cannot. You could try an almond flour/tapioca crust like on this recipe if you like. Tapioca flour is totally different in comparison to cassava flour so you will have drastically different effects. Tapioca is all starch where as cassava has a macronutrient profile including carbohydrates, fiber, and protein. I highly recommend buying some if you are interested though, I use it all the time and it is very versatile.
this pie crust and pie is AMAZING!!! i made a thinner crust so i had some left over with which i made a paleo blueberry pie. i felt like i got 2 for 1! thank you for this delicious addition to my kitchen! 🙂
This pie is the pie of my dreams! Pinning!
I’m glad I could fulfill your dreams. 🙂
I am a huge fan of pecan pie so thank you for this recipe. I had given up ever having it again.
Question about the crust: if Cassava flour can be used 1:1 in place of wheat flour, why add the egg to the crust? I don’t use eggs in a wheat crust.
Thanks!
I am wondering the same thing!