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Black Bottom Pecan Pie is a delicious twist on a classic pecan pie. A layer of melted chocolate is at the bottom of the pie. This pie has zero corn syrup and has a delicious flavor profile.
Ingredients for Black Bottom Pecan Pie
- Pecans – I love to toast my pecans for a few minutes. This allows for the pecans to really become fragrant and brings out their best flavor.
- Brown sugar – This gives it a delicious caramel-like flavor.
- Brown rice syrup – In place of corn syrup, this pie calls for brown rice syrup. It’s a lot less sweet than corn syrup and I find the flavor is nuttier and more robust.
- Eggs – This helps set the pecan pie.
- Butter – You need a bit of fat to create a more unctuous flavor profile.
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe index card below!
Why Make This Pie
I am obsessed with this pie. The best part about this pie is the chocolate bottom. A bit of ganache is made by pouring hot heavy cream over chunks of dark chocolate. After a bit, itโs all mixed until very smooth. The chocolate is added to the base of the pie crust and then it goes in the freezer.
The freezer bit makes it so the chocolate becomes hard. This makes pouring the filling on top WAY easier. The two stay separated. If you want chocolate throughout your pecan pie, definitely make my Dark Chocolate Pecan Pie. And if you want a chocolate with coconut element, then make my Chocolate Coconut Pecan Pie.
How to Make Black Bottom Pecan Pie
- Roll out the homemade pie crust or store-bought pie crust and fit it into your pie dish.
- Time to make the ganache. I like to make ganache the easiest way possible, which means warming up heavy cream and pouring it over chocolate. Let it sit and then whisk together. So simple!
- Add it to the bottom of the pie crust and transfer it to the freezer until it turns solid.
- Mix up the filling ingredients (not including the pecans!). This is the part where people get confused. We’re adding the pecans to the pie crust by themselves.
- Add the pecans to the set pie crust.
- Pour the filling mixture it and brush the edges of the pie crust with egg wash.
- Transfer to the oven to bake for about
Tips and Tricks
- To make this pie ahead – Make the crust the night before. Make the filling the night before and keep it in the fridge in a bowl. Make the ganache the night before and then just before pouring it in, warm in the microwave for a minute or so, just until melted. Assemble just before baking.
- Use corn syrup – If you like, you can use Light Corn Syrup and use a 1:1 substitution.ย
- No blind-baking – Thereโs no blind-baking. I learned recently that I hate blind-baking. It adds one more step to an already long process.
- Store-bought pie crust – Feel free to use store-bought crust in place of homemade. Zero shame!
More Pie Recipe to Make!
- Classic Apple Pie
- Asian Pear Pie
- Butterscotch Pumpkin Pie
- Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie
- Miso Caramel Apple Pie
- Pie Crust 101
If you tried thisย Black Bottom Pecan Pieย recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟ย star ratingย and let me know how it went in the 📝ย commentsย below. Thanks for visiting!
Black Bottom Pecan Pie
Black Bottom Pecan Pie recipe is chocolatey twist on a classic pecan pie. A thin layer of ganache is smeared on the bottom of the pie. It's baked with no corn syrup and uses brown rice syrup.
Equipment
- 1 (9-inch) pie baking dish
- 1 mixing bowl
- 1 small saucepan
Ingredients
Pie Crust:
- 1 store-bought or homemade pie crust
Black Bottom:
- 4 ounces dark chocolate
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Filling:
- 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 3/4 cup brown rice syrup, (see notes below for substitutions)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs, (at room temperature)
- 2 1/2 cups pecans , (wholes and halves)
- 1 large egg (for egg wash) , beaten
- Whipped cream and/or vanilla ice cream, for serving
Instructions
To Make the Black Bottom
- Preheat to 350 degrees F.
- Add the chocolate to a small bowl. In a small saucepan, add the heavy cream and heat until very hot to the touch (about 130 degrees F). Immediately pour the heavy cream on top of the chocolate and allow to stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Then, whisk the chocolate and cream together until very smooth. Set aside.
- Remove the pie crust from the fridge and allow to stand on the counter for about 10 minutes. I always find this helps with rolling it out. Begin to roll the dough, being sure to rotate it every so often to avoid sticking, to a 13-inch round. Wrap the dough around the rolling pin and unroll it over a 9-inch pie dish. Gently fit the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pie dish. Trim the dough around the pie tin, leaving a 1 1/2-inch overhang (this is important is you want a nice crimp). Tuck the overhang under itself all the way around. Rest your right thumb on the edge of the pie crust and using your left hand, shape a v. Push the two together, creating a large crimp. Work your way around the entire pie curst until youโre done.
- Pour the melted chocolate into the pie crust and smooth it out with the back of a spoon to create an even layer. Transfer the pie crust to the freezer to chill for 15 to 20 minutes.
To Make the Filling and To Bake:
- Meanwhile, in a saucepan, set over medium heat, add the brown sugar and cubes of butter. Heat until the butter has melted. Give it a good stir and then turn the heat off. Mix in the brown rice syrup, vanilla extract, salt and eggs. Mix until smooth.
- Remove the pie crust from the freezer and add the pecans to the pie shell. Pour the filling into the pie crust and transfer to a baking sheet. Brush the edges of the pie crust with egg wash and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the center has set (it may rise slightly and be slightly jiggly). Be sure to check on it periodically throughout the baking processโif at any time the crust get too brown, you can place a piece of foil over it to stop the browning.
- Chill on the counter for about 2 hours before slicing. This will set the pie and is necessary in order to get nice slices! Serve with whipped cream and/or ice cream.
Notes
To Make Ahead:
- Make the crust the night before. Make the filling the night before and keep it in the fridge in a bowl. Make the ganache the night before and then just before pouring it in, warm in the microwave for a minute or so, just until melted. Assemble just before baking.
- Recipe for a single pie crust, click here
- If you like, you can use Light Corn Syrup and use a 1:1 substitution.ย
Nutrition
Serving: 6g | Calories: 234kcal
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this Recipe? Please Rate & comment below!
Iโve been making this pie for almost ten years and itโs my favorite. It almost sounds like too much to add chocolate but the dark chocolate provides a slight bitter contrast to the sweetness. Itโs amazing warm but itโs the BEST coming out of the fridge. I use the homemade pie crust recipe as well and it is perfect.
I made this pie for a family gathering and everyone loved it! The flavor is amazing, and it was worth seeking out the brown rice syrup. However, even after letting it cool for 2.5 hours after coming out of the oven, it was still a little soft/runny, including that the ganache was soft. I live in a hot climate and made this in the summer, which likely contributed to that. In the future, I will cool the pie in the fridge. Leftovers the next that had cooled in the fridge were also amazing!
Hmmm…interesting. I could definitely be the warmer temperatures in the summer. Thanks so much for the feedback and so glad it worked out! YAY!
WOW! This is an amazing recipe. The dark chocolate ganache is the perfect compliment to the sweet pecan pie filling. I used corn syrup and still found it delish (but will try with brown rice syrup next time!).
Mine looked pretty wobbly still when I took it out of the oven and I was worried but it definitely set up and was sliceable after cooling on counter.
I made my own pie crust and loved that it didnโt need any parbake.
Thanks for a great recipe – will be making this again and again!
I have made many pecan pies but have made this one for the last 3 years. This will be year 4 and I will make it every year after because it is that good!!
It’s perfectly sweet and chocolatey!! Comes out incredible every time!
Could I use corn syrup in this recipe, and what would be the measurement for it?
you sure can! you can sub it in 1:1 ๐
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was delicious but very, very sweet. I’d already cut the sugar down to 1 cup instead of 1 1/4- any tips for further cutting back on sweetness without completely messing with the texture of the filling? Thanks!
did you use brown rice syrup? or corn syrup? the brown rice syrup is definitely less sweet. you need the brown sugar in there to make the pie sliceable, unfortunately. if you decrease the brown sugar to say 1/2 cup, it may not be sliceable. but that might be ok!
Thank you so much for the response… Sorry it took me so long to respond! I did use brown rice syrup, and at 1 cup it was still very sliceable, so I will try 3/4 cup next time and see how it goes. I do think it tasted less sweet the next day when it had been refrigerated. We ate it on Thanksgiving Day at room temp. It was so, so delicious – definitely making it again!
I was wondering if its possible to use this recipe but in bar form. So, a shortbread crust but with the chocolate and pecan fillings? Being that you bake shortbread before adding the filling and baking again, do you think I can still bake the shortbread crust, add the ganache and the filling and bake it just as you did in the recipe?
Ahh yes I do. This should work for something like that because the pecan part really sticks together! And that order should work great.
I am making this for thanksgiving, along with two other of your pies! Can I ask which brand of rice syrup you used?
I used the rice syrup from the brand Lundberg Family Farms. Here’s a link (I believe I purchased it at Whole Foods and I use it for coffee too!):
http://www.lundberg.com/products/baking/
ALSO, that’s wonderful to hear. Please report back and tell me how it is!