High-altitude pecan pie puzzle solved

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs) ,  Dec 28, 2005   by TERESA J. FARNEY Staff Food columnist

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Jerry Hall, I feel your pain.

I, too, had problems making pecan pies in Colorado Springs, so I knew exactly what you were talking about when you sent me the following e-mail:

"I gave up trying to bake pecan pies in Colorado Springs because of (apparent) hightude problems. Even the classic pecan pie recipe on the Karo syrup bottle that is so easy at lower attitudes doesn't work for me here. I usually use the Pillsbury folded pie crusts and suspect this may be part of the problem. The pie filling seems to get beneath the crust in spite of all attempts to be sure the 'fold cracks' are sealed. Also, in Breckenridge last week, a daughter-in- law attempted a pecan pie and most of the filling boiled out of the crust."

Take heart, Jerry. I have some solutions for you, and the first is to ditch the premade crust and make your own. I learned that lesson first-hand.

As one who embraces convenient shortcuts, I once had opted to use the Pillsbury crusts. They worked just fine for every pie except pecan. I had the same problem: The crust broke and floated up into the center of the pie. After a couple of these failed baking experiences, I went back to making my homemade crust and -- voil! -- the crust stayed on the bottom where it belonged.

I suspected that the problems with the Pillsbury crust stemmed from it being so high in vegetable fat. Because of the searing heat created by the bubbling, sugary pecan pie filling, the pastry would melt in places and the filling would ooze into the melted holes.

For the solution to the Breckenridge boil-over problem, I turned to Susan Purdy's "Pie in the Sky -- Successful Baking at High Altitudes" cookbook.

"This classic pecan pie had always been delicious, and perfectly reliable, until I took it to the ear-popping elevation of 10,000 feet in Breckenridge, Colorado, where it suddenly became the subject of high drama," she writes.

She learned that pecan pies tend to explode at that altitude. In fact, she notes, some bakers insisted it simply could not be perfected at such a high elevation.

Then she found a baker who achieved success by first cooking the filling in a saucepan.

"But it was a talk with food scientist Shirley Corriher that finally set me straight," Purdy writes. "She explained that since liquid evaporates so quickly at 10,000 feet, there was too much sugar in the three-egg pie once the liquid evaporated out. At a certain point, the over-concentrated sugar simply boiled over, or up and out, once an escape hole was found in the crusty pecan topping."

Purdy developed the recipe at left, which calls for cooking the syrup on the stove to control evaporation while the syrup boils down and thickens. Then she cuts down the amount of fat and adds a little cornstarch for extra thickening and stability (the starch helps prevent the eggs from curdling).

Here then, for Jerry and all other pecan pie fans, is Purdy's pecan pie recipe for 5,000 feet (recommended for our altitude) and 10,000 feet, should you be baking at higher elevations.

Teresa J. Farney's column appears Wednesdays. Reach her at 636- 0271.

PECAN PIE

Yield: 8 servings

1 (9-inch) pie crust

5,000 FEET: 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

3 large eggs, at room temperature

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup dark corn syrup

1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) pecan halves or pieces

10,000 FEET: 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

2/3 cup dark corn syrup

1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

2 teaspoons cornstarch

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) pecan halves or pieces

Procedure: 1. Position rack in lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and set cookie sheet on rack to get hot.

2. Line 9-inch pie plate with crust. Line crust with foil and fill with pie weights. Place on cookie sheet in oven. Prebake crust 15-17 minutes at 5,000 feet, or 15-20 minutes at 10,000 feet. Remove cookie sheet with pie plate on it, gather up edges of foil with pie weights inside and lift out. Set aside pie shell.

3. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees at 5,000 feet, 325 degrees at 10,000 feet. Move oven rack to center of oven.

4. (5,000 feet): In bowl of electric mixer or in large bowl using whisk, beat together brown sugar and eggs. Mix in all remaining ingredients except nuts. Pour filling into partially baked pastry shell and arrange nuts on top. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until table knife inserted in center comes out clean or coated with clear syrup.

4. (10,000 feet): Melt butter in medium saucepan, then stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, molasses and salt. In cup, combine lemon juice and 1 teaspoon vanilla; stir in cornstarch until dissolved, then stir mixture into pan. Bring to full, bubbling boil over medium- high heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, about 3 minutes. Stir down bubbles, then remove from heat. Stir in remaining vanilla. Whisk eggs in mixing bowl. While continuing to whisk, add a few tablespoons hot syrup to eggs, then whisk eggs into hot syrup, beating well as you do so (strain mixture if lumpy). Pour hot filling into partially baked pastry shell and arrange nuts on top. Bake about 30 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean or coated with clear syrup.