Sunday afternoons with chocolate pecan pie

Sunday afternoons in the South… fried chicken, black eye peas, mashed potatoes, homemade buttermilk biscuits, and chocolate pecan pie…Family gathered around the dinner table enjoying conversation and each other’s company. Is there anything more scrumptious? It’s funny how certain foods and desserts automatically conjure up images of the South. Chocolate pecan pie is a southern tradition, just like regular pecan pie, but with the little something extra. A sweet chocolate taste that delights the taste buds, served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Oh so delicious. The first time I tasted the chocolate pecan pie at Tanner’s Pecans I was taken back to those lazy Sunday afternoons with my grandmother in the kitchen and my parents and aunts and uncles talking and laughing and us kids playing without a care in the world. I would always sneak into the kitchen to help my grandmother cook and bake. How else was I supposed to become a good Southern cook if I didn’t help? She would always smile and welcome me and let me be her little helper. Sometimes I was more of a hindrance then help, but she did not care. And it was through her love and patience that I gained my love of baking and fine Southern cuisine. My grandmother never used a recipe. It always fascinated me how she just knew how much and of what to put in… never really used a measuring cup or spoons either. Just a little of this and a bit of that. The older I got, I would try my best to write down as I went along so that I could make her desserts on my own. Her chocolate pecan pie recipe always made two pies, but it is so easy to cut in half and make only one:

Chocolate Pecan Pie

* 3 cups granulated sugar
* pinch of salt
* 7 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa
* 4 large eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla
* 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
* 1 stick butter, melted (8 tablespoons)
* 1 cup pecan halves, and 2 unbaked pecan pie shells – deep dish.

Mix sugar, salt, and cocoa together. Whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and milk; stir into the dry ingredients. Add melted butter and stir until well blended. Sprinkle pecan halves in the pie shell, about 1/2 cup in each shell. Pour filling over the pecans. Bake at 350° for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the filling is set and the center is just slightly jiggly. Makes 2 pies.

I can smell the chocolate pecan pie cooking now. And it never had to be a holiday or special occasion to make it. Not like a traditional pecan pie that is usually thought of at Thanksgiving time or a spice cake that is more thought of during the colder months – chocolate pecan pie was good at anytime or at any meal. And even though I love my grandmother’s chocolate pecan pie, I am also a huge cake fan. And I went in search of a way to take that delicious taste and transform it into a cake… and I think I was able to do that by incorporating marshmallows for the vanilla ice cream taste.

Chocolate Pecan Marshmallow Cake:

* 6 ounces butter (3/4 cup, 1 1/2 sticks)
*1 1/2 cups sugar, 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
* 3 eggs, 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
* 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 6 ounces miniature marshmallows, about 3 cups.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in cocoa. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour, nuts and vanilla; mix well. Pour batter into greased and floured 9x13x2-inch baking pan. Bake chocolate marshmallow cake at 325° for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and place miniature marshmallows on top of hot cake. Let marshmallows melt then frost with icing (below) while still warm.

ICING:
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 lb confectioners sugar (about 3 1/2 cups un-sifted)
* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* milk for consistency.

Mix all ingredients together, adding milk until desired spreading consistency is reached; spread on warm chocolate marshmallow cake. Cool chocolate marshmallow cake thoroughly before serving.

This cake has become a family favorite also and like the chocolate pecan pie, it can be served for any occasion and not just for holidays. And the older I got, the more I began experimenting and finding my own recipes. I came across this chocolate pecan pie recipe that uses corn syrup like in a traditional pecan pie. It is already cut down to make just one pie and it is no less delicious.

Chocolate Pecan Pie with Corn Syrup:

*4 ounces semisweet chocolate
* 2 tablespoons margarine, melted
* 3 eggs 1/3 cup sugar , 1 cup corn syrup (light or dark)
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 1/4 cups pecan halves
* 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell- homemade or frozen.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a double boiler melt chocolate and margarine. Let cool slightly. Beat eggs lightly in medium bowl. Add sugar, corn syrup, chocolate mixture, and vanilla; stir until well blended. Mix in pecans. Set pie shell on heavy-duty baking sheet and pour in filling. Bake 50 to 55 minutes, until knife inserted midway between center and rim comes out clean. Cool pie on wire rack to room temperature before cutting.

I prefer to use light corn syrup, it seems to give the chocolate pecan pie a lighter taste or in any pecan pie. But the pie is delicious either way, a sweet rich southern dessert. So, go ahead and start your own Sunday dinner tradition… or just any day really. It doesn’t have to be Sunday or even dinner time to enjoy good old southern chocolate pecan pie.