PECAN AND GINGER HAND PIES

PECAN & GINGER HAND PIES

(Makes 8 hand pies)

CRUST

210 g   cake flour

2 ml     salt

3 ml     ground ginger

150 g   butter (cold and cubed)

±60 ml ice-cold water

FILLING

250 g   whole pecan nuts  

200 g   soft brown sugar

45 ml   cake flour

3          small eggs

80 g     melted butter

30 ml   ginger syrup

100 g   preserved ginger, chopped

METHOD CRUST:

• Grease 8 loose-bottomed small tart tins
• Sift the flour, salt and ground ginger into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (or you can place it in a food processor and pulse).
• Mix in just enough ice-cold water to make the pastry and wrap in clingfilm.
• Rest the pastry in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 3 mm thick. Use it to line the tart tins.

METHOD FILLING:

• Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
• Arrange the pecan nuts on the uncooked pastry.
• Mix the sugar, flour, eggs, melted butter, and ginger syrup together and pour it over the nuts.
• GENTLY mix in the chopped ginger and bake for about 15 minutes.
• Cool completely before serving with whipped cream and a generous drizzle of the ginger syrup
• OPTIONAL: Serve with ginger-flavoured mascarpone (250 g mascarpone whipped with 50 ml chopped preserved ginger).