Southern Pecan Pie — American Pecan Custard Pie

Combine the flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter, cut into cubes, and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Cool your hands with cold water before working so the butter does not melt. Add the egg yolk and ice water and press just until the dough comes together; overworking will make it tough. Shape into a disk and wrap.

Roll the chilled dough to 3 mm thick between two sheets of parchment. Fit it into a 24 cm tart pan and press it into the edges. Prick the bottom all over with a fork. Freeze the pan for 15 minutes; frozen dough is less likely to slide down the sides in the oven.

Cover the dough with parchment and fill it with dry beans to weigh it down. Bake at 190°C / 375°F for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights, then bake for 3 minutes more; the base should look matte and dry, with no wet sheen. Reduce the oven to 160°C / 320°F.

Whisk the eggs only until the yolks and whites are combined, without whipping in foam; bubbles can leave marks on top of the filling. Add the brown sugar, glucose syrup, melted butter, seeds scraped from the vanilla bean, and salt. Stir until smooth. Coarsely chop half the pecans and fold them into the mixture.

Pour the filling into the warm crust and arrange the remaining pecans in a ring on top. Bake at 160°C / 320°F for 32 minutes. When you take the pie out, the edges should be puffed and the center should wobble gently as one piece when you shake the pan. If the center sets completely, the filling may contract as it cools and pull away from the crust.