Mud Turtle Pie

What’s a mud turtle pie, aside from this week’s recipe from Rose’s Alpha Bakers? It’s a pecan pie, with chocolate on top. Think a turtle candy, but the caramel’s a little less chewy. I went with the milk chocolate ganache, rather than the dark option. And I made the ganache long before making any of the rest of the pie. I also made 2 pies, since, as someone pointed out recently, it’s really not that much more work than one pie. I had some pie dough in the freezer, so I just doubled the other parts of the recipe, so that I could leave one at home for Jay while I’m away visiting family this week, and take one into work, sort of in part as a thank you for my co-worker bringing in a rhubarb custard pie on Friday.

Since the ganache needed to cool for several hours before it could be used on the pie, I figured I’d make it first.  The first step is finely chopping the dark & white chocolates. The food processor is pretty much the best thing ever, for this purpose.

Then pour in scalded cream, while the processor’s running, then scrape it into a bowl to sit until it’s set enough to use.  Next, pre-bake the pie crusts.

You can see my pie weights (beans) in the background, here, on the massive coffee filters that I use for this purpose. I think I’ve got a lifetime supply, even if I baked a pie every week, because I bought them at the restaurant supply store in a stack about 2 ft tall. I toasted the pecans after I chopped them, and before I used them, too.

The pie filling is pretty straightforward. Golden syrup, muscovado sugar, egg yolks, cream, butter, vanilla.. all the yummy things. Cook until slightly thickened, then pour over the pecans. Bake, cool, then add the ganache.

Let the ganache cool for a bit, then make some turtles. 😀  I just went and dug through my pictures from recipe testing days, and found this one:

The turtle has evolved since the time we tested these recipes!

As I mentioned, one of the pies was for work, and the other for home. One co-worker always stops by my desk when he gets in, and we go get coffee/tea together. He gave me a hug this morning when I told him there was pie, when he showed up at my desk. He seemed surprised that there were two pieces already missing – another coworker and I had just finished our breakfast. 😉

Verdict: Brian said it was really good. Doug wondered why the crust was darker than my pie crust normally is, and I explained the pre-baking. He suggested that this one might be nice with something like raspberry to add some tartness, though he did say that it didn’t taste as rich/sweet as it seemed like it would be. Jason (co-worker, not husband) was quite pleased to hear that there were still leftovers on my desk when I left today, and that he might get a repeated breakfast. He’ll have to do without the company for tea, though, since I’m heading HOME tomorrow to visit my parents for a few days!

Have a great week!