Similar to pecan pie, this walnut maple pie recipe is full of fresh, chopped walnuts embedded in a custard base and sweetened with maple syrup.
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
Where my parents live in Sacramento, their house is surrounded by huge walnut trees. The housing development is located in a former commercial walnut orchard.
Nowadays the trees are getting old, two are already gone and the other three are just hanging in there and not really producing much.
An excess of walnuts will result in a new cake
Nevertheless, we have a special affinity for walnuts. Growing up, we simply substituted walnuts for pretty much any recipe that called for pecans. That’s how I started making walnut cake.
Like pecan pie, but with walnuts and maple
At its simplest, it’s just a pecan pie where you swap out the pecans for walnuts. But walnuts can be a bit more bitter than pecans, so for this particular version I chose to use a dark maple syrup instead of the more commonly used corn syrup.
The sweet maple flavor helps balance the bitter edge of the walnuts. Like our pecan pie, this walnut maple pie isn’t overly sweet. I’m very happy with it (my parents both call it a winner!) and hope you will be too.
Tips for baking walnut maple pie
- Freeze Crust: Due to the long baking time of this recipe, there is no need to blind bake the pie crust. Before baking, however, freezing the pie shell will help the edges hold their shape and prevent them from collapsing.
- Use a brick: To firm the bottom crust, place a baking stone in the preheated oven and set the cake directly on the hot stone to bake.
- Tent with foil: If the crust is browning but the filling takes longer to bake, loosely line the pie with foil to stop the crust from browning further. If possible, move the cake to another rack in the oven.
Substitute for Maple Walnut Pie
- Use black walnuts instead of English walnuts, or a mixture of both.
- Use pecans instead of walnuts.
- Instead of rum, use the same amount of bourbon or whiskey.
- If you like, toast the nuts before making the cake to enhance their flavor. Spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven until nutty and flavorful, 5 to 10 minutes depending on your oven. (Pecans typically roast faster than walnuts and burn easily. If you use them, keep an eye on them.)
Prepare walnut maple pie ahead of time
This is a great cake to make a day in advance. There is no need to refrigerate. It is stored well covered at room temperature.
This dense, sweet cake also freezes well. Bake as directed, cool completely, wrap in one layer of plastic wrap and one layer of foil and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
From the editors of Simply Recipes
Walnut Maple Pie
Whenever possible, use a dark maple syrup (US Grade B) for this recipe. It has a much stronger maple flavor than Grade A.
ingredients
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1 (9 inch) cake bowlfrozen for at least 30 minutes (see cake base recipe)
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2 cups roughly chopped walnuts
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2 big eggs, beaten
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1 Cup Maple Syrup (dark robust)
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1 tablespoon dark rumOptional
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1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
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2 tablespoon melted butter
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2 tablespoon all purpose flour
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1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
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1/8 teaspoon Cinammon
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1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
method
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Preheat the oven:
Preheat oven to 375°F.
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Make the egg and maple syrup base:
In a bowl, combine the beaten eggs, maple syrup, rum (if using), vanilla extract, and melted butter. Sprinkle with flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk until smooth.
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Pour the crust over the walnuts in the tart shell:
Scatter the chopped walnuts in the bottom of a prepared pie crust. Pour the maple syrup and egg mixture over the walnuts.
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Bake:
Place the cake in the preheated oven on the middle shelf. Place a baking sheet on the rack below to catch drips from the pie crust.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. After about 20 minutes (about halfway through baking), you can line the edges of the pie crust with foil or use a pie protector to keep the edges from burning.
Simple tip!
Don’t worry if the surface of the cake “cracks” during baking. The pie filling will puff up while it’s hot (because of the eggs) and then deflate as it cools.
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Cool:
Remove from the oven and let cool completely before serving.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 548 | calories |
| 35g | Fat |
| 55g | carbohydrates |
| 9g | protein |
