Chocolate Pecan Tart

This delicious GF/DF dessert is great year-round, but I especially liked it after our big Thanksgiving feast last year. When planning my menu, I couldn't decide between something chocolatey and something a little more savory. So when I stumbled across this recipe, I got excited! I love pecan pie! And adding chocolate just seems so right! Satisfies both cravings at once. It was the first pie dish to empty at the family get together. Can I say how proud that made me?

Last year I served it up with a can of fake whipped cream. It was good, and made for cute formations atop the pie, but one of the cans malfunctioned, and so I had to throw it away completely unused. There went $5 :( This year, I would recommend this as a less expensive, tastier dairy free whipped cream substitute. Or use the real stuff, if you want to...and no I don't mean the kind from the blue tub! Real whipping cream on Thanksgiving is definitely a worthy cheat in my book :D

I'll start with the pie crust:

Basic Pastry Crust for a Single Pie
Adapted from "1000 Gluten Free Recipes" by Carol Fenster

1/2 c sorghum flour blend*
1/4 + 1/8 c tapioca flour
1/4 c sweet rice flour
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp guar gum (I just used more xanthan)
1/4 tsp salt
1/16 tsp baking soda
1/4 c shortening or buttery spread (I used Spectrum vegetable shortening)
1/4 c milk (I used almond)
1/2 tsp vinegar or lemon juice

Place dry ingredients plus shortening in a food processor. Process until mixture is crumbly. Add milk and vinegar and process again until a ball forms (break up the dough and scrape down the sides with a spatula if it doesn't form a ball, then reprocess).

Remove dough from processor, and knead with wet hands until dough is smooth.

Shape into a disk, 1-inch thick, and wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Note: From here, the recipe goes on to describe how to roll the dough out, transfer to a pie plate, and flute the edges. Lol. Those of you who know me know that I don't do that. I just warmed the dough up a bit in my hands, and spread it into a 9-inch non-stick pie pan, pressing with my fingers until it evenly covered the bottom and sides of the pan. Use wet hands if the dough is sticky. It worked great!

Crust is now ready to be filled and baked.


*Carol Fenster's Sorghum Flour Blend:
1 1/2 c sorghum flour (35%)
1 1/2 c potato starch/cornstarch (35%)
1 c tapioca starch (30%)

Add all ingredients to a tupperware. Cover tightly, and shake until blended.
These measurments make about 4 cups. You can also just approximate it, which is what I often do, using the percentages.



Gluten and Dairy Free Chocolate Pecan Tart
Adapted from "1000 Gluten Free Recipes" by Carol Fenster

1 9-inch pie crust, prepared
1 egg, beaten to a foam (I think I skipped the egg wash)
1 c pecans, chopped
2/3 c chocolate chips (I used enjoy life as a DF option)
1/2 c light corn syrup (I can't remember what I subbed for the syrup, I think it was this recipe)
1/4 c packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temp
2 tbsp butter/sub, melted
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

Arrange the racks in your oven so that one is in the middle, and one is at the bottom. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the edges of the crust with the egg wash. Arrange the pecans on the bottoms of the crust. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top, spreading evenly.

Make the filling by beating the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until blended and smooth.

Slowly pour the mixture into the crust. Place the whole pie pan on a baking sheet. I covered mine with foil for easy cleanup (but I don't think much splashed over).

Bake pie for 10 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven. Move to the middle rack and place a sheet of tinfoil on top of the pie. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the filling is set.

Remove from oven and cool pie plate on a wire rack. Once it has cooled completely, refridgerate until ready to serve (at least an hour), so that the filling is firm enough to cut. Serve with whipped cream topping of choice.

Makes 8-12 servings.


What are YOU making for Thanksgiving? I want to hear all about your awesome meal plans!

P.S. I'm so excited to share with you all another amazing dessert recipe! Stay tuned for a very special post :)

P.P.S. This post is part of Linda @ The Gluten Free Homemaker's Gluten Free Wednesdays Carnival! Head over there for other scrumptious recipes!