Bon Appétit's pecan cream pie uses sour cream twice - and that's the trick
Bon Appétit's new pecan cream pie is not a choose-one dessert. It borrows the gooey, nut-packed base of a classic pecan pie, then stacks a silky brown sugar custard and a pillow of whipped cream on top, finishing with crunchy candied pecans.
The sour cream trick
The sneaky move is sour cream, and it shows up twice. A dollop goes into the pecan layer to stop the sugar from crystallizing and keep the filling from tipping too sweet; more goes into the whipped topping, adding tang and helping the cream hold its shape.
Dark brown sugar and a generous pour of vanilla give the custard its toffee-like flavor. Cook it over medium heat until it bubbles and turns glossy and thick like pudding, about three to four minutes - the cornstarch has to cook on the stove, not just set in the fridge, or the filling will slump.
The crust gets its own upgrade: two ounces of chilled cream cheese are rubbed into the flour before the butter goes in, which keeps the dough tender and a little richer. The recipe does a couple of quick folds - roll, fold, turn, roll again - to build flaky layers without overworking the gluten.
The recipe, from Bon Appétit food editor Joe Sevier, riffs on the towering praline pecan pie served at Das Dutchman Essenhaus in Middlebury, Indiana. It is more involved than a classic pecan pie, but the steps split cleanly across two days, which makes it a solid Thanksgiving-eve project.
Bake the crust and pecan layer up to a day ahead and leave them at room temperature. Once the custard goes in, the pie needs at least four hours in the fridge to set, and the fully assembled pie keeps for a day. Scatter the candied pecans right before serving so they stay crunchy, and use a standard nine-inch metal pan - it browns evenly and holds more filling than glass. Figure two hours of hands-on work plus six hours of chilling for eight hefty slices.
