Few desserts are as identifiably Southern as pecan pie,and not just because of its emphatic sweetness. Replete with toasted nuts, butter, and brown sugar, pecan pies conjure thoughts of mild autumn afternoons spent on a wraparound porch swing. That is, if they're baked correctly! One potential risk of making a translucent custard, like pecan pie filling, is that it might not set properly, leaving you with an unappetizingly runny slice. Once you've noticed the problem, the only solution is to protect the crust and pop the pie back in the oven.
If you look in the oven and see that your pecan pie crust has turned a perfect golden brown, you'll instinctively want to take it out -- even if the filling is too jiggly or even soupy. Here's the thing to remember: If you're filling hasn't set, it means the bottom of the pie crust isn't fully cooked, either. You can prevent the outer crust from further darkening (or even burning) by covering it with aluminum foil or -- more attractively -- with what's known as a pie ring or shield. As long as you were following a dependable recipe, your filling should finish setting in another ten to twenty minutes. Regardless of how good it smells, let the pie cool before cutting into it. We have to be adults about this.
Old-school pecan pie fillingstypically consist of sugar (both brown and white sugar as well as optional corn syrup), butter, eggs, salt, vanilla extract, and pecan halves.Without an apparent structuring agent like flour or starch, how does this pie actually set? Well, like any good custard -- through thegel structure created by the coagulation of egg proteins.This process can't happen too quickly, or else we'd wind up with a scrambled egg and pecan pie instead. Through a complex interaction, the sugar blocks the egg proteins from binding too quickly, while the salt gives them a positive charge, allowing them to bind more fully. And voila: a set pie filling!
If runny pecan pie fillings are a chronic problem, check your oven temperature. It may be running too cool and not be sufficiently hot for the custard magic to take place. Employ the pie-shield solution to save whatever dessert is already in there, and then get yourself a reliable oven thermometer to ensure proper preheating in the future. After all, consistency is everything in baking.
Why didn't the filling set properly? If your pecan pie is still a little soupy, it simply means you need to bake it more. The center or filling of a pecan pie needs time to thicken and set properly.
A pecan pie is essentially a custard pie, and a liquid center is almost always the result of underbaking. The Karo Classic Pecan Pie recipe calls for baking the pie for 60 to 70 minutes at 350 degrees. In some ovens, however, the pie can take 75 minutes or more.
Once you hit the sweet spot where it looks done, take your slightly jiggly pecan pie out of the oven and place it on a wire cooling rack. The filling continues to cook and will fully set as the pie cools, so giving a pie plenty of time at room temperature before serving is important.
But if you bake your pie and it's STILL runny try letting it cool down (if you haven't yet) and it will likely thicken as it cools, put it back in the oven again to activate the thickener or drain off some of the liquid off and then put it back in the oven.
A soupy pecan pie filling can be fixed by covering the crust in foil and popping it back into the oven at around 325 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20 to 30 minutes. Do not wait too long after you notice the filling isn't set. If you do, the bottom of the crust could begin to get soggy.
Cook pecan pie too much and it'll crack and be dry. Underbake it and it will be watery and runny. You want to cook pecan pie to an internal temperature of 200°F. Use a digital thermometer to make this easy.
Pecan pie has a somewhat similar set of issues—the filling can crack, the bottom can be under-baked, the filling can seep under the crust, and the nuts can be soggy. Like the pumpkin pie, the filling will crack if the pie is over-baked or cools too quickly.
And, finally, as much as a steaming-hot slice of apple pie sounds appealing, let your pie rest for at least an hour before slicing. The filling will thicken as it cools and don't worry—your pie will still be plenty warm enough to gently melt that scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of it.
A fruit pie can go back in the oven if the crust is too pale. A custard pie cannot be put back in the oven because it will be overcooked and curdle if the custard was done but the crust wasn't.
Corn Syrup: Dark corn syrup adds texture, volume, and deep flavor. For a lighter flavor, use light corn syrup. Butter: Butter gives this pie richness and a delicious depth of flavor. Cornstarch and water: Two teaspoons of cornstarch and a tablespoon of cold water work together to help thicken the filling.
Clear Jel powder {the cooking type} is simply modified corn starch and works well to keep fillings nice and thick whether you are going to cook them right away, or stash in the freezer for later. Clear Jel powder also works great to thicken up cream pies too.
The most common way to ward off a soggy pie crust is by a process called blind baking. Blind baking means you pre-bake the crust (sometimes covered with parchment or foil and weighed down with pie weights to prevent the crust from bubbling up) so that it sets and crisps up before you add any wet filling.
Introduction: My name is Stevie Stamm, I am a colorful, sparkling, splendid, vast, open, hilarious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
