Pies - Horizon Guest House

Chocolate brownies are the best, so why not turn them into a fabulous tart! One of the best things about this easy recipe is the homemade pastry crust. Don’t worry if you’ve never made pastry before, it’s a straight-forward recipe and easy to make (and a lot better than store-bought). Perfect for the holiday season!

Make the pastry

Put the flour, cocoa, icing sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until combined. Add butter and pulse again, until you have a sandy texture and the butter has disappeared into the mixture. Pour mixture into a bowl. Add ice-cold water (1 tbsp at a time) mixing in between until the pastry comes together in clumps. Don’t over work the pastry or it will become too tough. Tip onto a sheet of plastic wrap and draw up on all sides – gently press the pastry into a ball. Wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes (you can also freeze for up to 3 months).

Heat oven to 350F. Roll out the pastry and use to line a 9.5-inch tart tin. Chill for 15 minutes in the freezer or 30 minutes in the fridge. Line with baking paper and baking beans and bake for 10 minutes. Take out the beans and paper and bake for another 5 minutes. Let sit while you make the filling.

Make the filling

Melt the butter and chocolate in a large glass or metal bowl set over a pan of boiling water. Remove bowl from heat. Whisk in the sugar, eggs and vanilla, then the flour. Stir in the pecans, pour into the tart case and bake for 30 minutes.

Let cool and then serve with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. Let us know how your tart turned out in the comments below!

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Haupia pudding is a traditional coconut milk-based Hawaiian dessert. Popular since the 1940s, it is most often chilled in a retangular pan and then cut into blocks and served. Here, we add it as a topping to a delicious fresh mango filling.

This recipe utilizes a ‘soft set’ recipe for the haupia, keeping the haupia creamy without letting it harden too much, unlike the traditional ‘hard set’ recipes for haupia that result in a much more gelatine-like consistency.

Mango base

Cut mango into cubes (about 1 inch in size) until you have about 4 cups worth. If you’re using frozen mango, make sure you thaw prior to use. Place in a large bowl.

Mix together the corn starch, sugar and cinnamon. Add mixture to the chopped mango and stir.

Pour into the pie shell (you can use a frozen shell, or make your own).

Cover with aluminium foil and bake at 350F for about 35-40 minutes (until bubbling). Set aside.

Haupia topping

Add corn starch to 1/4 cup of the coconut milk. Stir until all dissolved.

Pour the remaining coconut milk into a saucepan. Add the sugar and the salt. On a medium heat, cook until all of the sugar has dissolved.

Then slowly add the corn starch mixture as you whisk. Keep stirring with the whisk until thickened (this should take about 2-3 minutes).

Pour thickened mixture over the mango pie. Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating for at least 1-2 hours.

Serve fresh from the refrigerator with a spoonful of whipped cream!

Traditional haupia pie includes a layer of chocolate or purple sweet potato. The old Hawaiian recipe for haupia actually specifies ground pia instead of the corn starch used today. Ground pia is also known as Polynesian arrowroot.

We hope you enjoyed our version of haupia pie. Have you created a haupia pie with a different filling? Let us know in the comments below.