RECIPE: PINE NUT, RUM & LEMON GOLDEN PIE


There is something about a taste, the experience of eating a delicious (or repulsive) meal that impregnates the mind with a kernel of memory that is more resilient and less prone to be forgotten than most banal experiences of daily life. But what about when memories are simply invented? Today, I don’t remember what I ate exactly two weeks ago, but if somebody I trust, say, Adélaïde, told me that I had a magret de canard, I would probably believe her.
Not only that, but I might even visualize the memory, depending on how much detail is given. It scares me sometimes when I believe recalling an exact event, like storing a valuable in a particular place, only to find out that I was totally wrong. The images in my brain recalling that event were completely fabricated. How much of our past is fiction?
The elasticity of our memories drives me to think of the range of moods and feelings that alter perceptions of ourselves and the world. In accessing the past through memory, we are always selecting and editing from the archive of a constantly evolving personal history. Not to mention the fact that the very way we reflect on particular events also changes over time and according to experience. Maybe the revision of my tomato memory occurred after eating so many delicious tomatoes that I simply cannot believe it was ever this bad… I guess exercising awareness of this fact is a way to gain greater autonomy over something that seems uncontrollable?
Pine nut, rum & lemon golden pie | Serves 6
For an app. 22cm-wide baking pan.
The pastry:
To use a whole egg, use this recipe and freeze the remaining crust for your next pie.
- 100g good quality flour, sifted
- 60g unsalted butter, diced
- 40g powdered sugar
- 8g almond powder, sifted
- 20g egg, beaten
- a pinch of salt
- On a clean work surface, directly sift the flour, powdered sugar, almond powder and add a generous pinch of salt. Gently mix with your fingers to blend the ingredients. Dice the cold butter & start mixing with the powders to cut in the dough, by sweeping up and gathering the blend in your hands and gently rubbing them against each other until the butter is integrated into the dry ingredients. The blend should look like rough sand and turn into a rich yellow color. This sablage should take a few minutes.
- Form a well and add in the beaten egg. In circles, rub the egg into the flour/butter blend until it forms a homogenous dough. Knead as little as possible, or else the pastry will become elastic and it will shrink when baking.
Note: if you have a stand mixer, you can sift the powders and add the chopped butter directly in the mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed with the paddle until the blend gets the desired consistency. Then add in the egg and keep beating until it starts forming a ball. Finish smoothing out by hand, shape into a ball and flatten it down. Wrap in cling-film and refrigerate. - Smooth out the crust by pressing it down with the palm of your hand 2 or 3 times. If you feel that the pastry is too moist, dust with a little bit of flour. Shape into a ball and flatten it down a little so it’ll be easier to roll out and will cool faster & more evenly. Wrap in cling-film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. You can even start by putting it in the freezer for 15 minutes if you’re in a hurry. It’s important the pastry rests and cools before you roll it out or else it might tear!
- Dust your work surface with a thin and even layer of flour. Roll out the pastry until it is app. 3mm thick. Make sure the pastry doesn’t stick by rotating it regularly by a quarter of a turn.
- Ease the crust into a buttered baking pan or tart ring and trim excess with a sharp knife. Using a fork, poke holes into the bottom of the crust so that no air is trapped under it while baking. Store in the freezer for 30 minutes before baking.
The pine nut, rum & lemon filling:
- 30g rum
- 50g maple syrup
- 50g brown sugar
- 1 egg
- Zest & juice of 1 lemon
- 2 pinches of salt
- 150g single cream, whipped
- 80-100g pine nuts
- Cut a piece of parchment paper the size and shape of your baking pan. Place over the lined crust and cover with dry beans or dry rice so that the pastry doesn’t rise while baking. Pre-bake the pastry in a preheated oven at 160°C for app. 15 min. Leave to cool without removing from pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the rum, maple syrup, brown sugar, egg, salt, lemon juice & zest and mix until homogenous.
- Whip the single cream and delicately fold it into the rum & lemon blend using a rubber spatula.
- Lay half of the pine nuts on the pre-baked crust. Pour the cream preparation and delicately even out with the spatula. Make sure you don’t pour too much cream into the crust depending on the size of your baking pan as it may overflow during the baking process. Sprinkle the remaining pine nuts over the cream and place the cut out pastry leaves, flowers or decorations if you made any.
- Bake for app. 40 min in a preheated oven at 160°C and leave to cool so that the cream sets in (it may still be a little liquid when you take it out of the oven).
- You can sprinkle the pie with fleur de sel before serving.

What a beautiful photographs, fascinated me. Thank you, love, nia
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Thank you so much for the compliment Nia! Truly appreciate it. Love back x
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Wonderful recipe and amazing photos! :)
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Thanks a ton!! :D
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This sounds delish, Andre! I wonder if aside from Pine nuts, we can sub other nuts.
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Yes absolutely!! You could also switch the zest and alcool for different flavors like brandy and blood orange… Thank you Mary-Ann!!
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Hahaha! That story is fantastic, hahaha!
And so are your pictures, phew!! They’re brilliant!
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Thank you Dana!!! How lovely to hear. You have a really nice blog too :).
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As usual, beautiful photos and text and a delicious looking tart. On my ‘I want to make this list’.
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And thank you as always Claire for your constant support. Hope you’ll enjoy the pie!!
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great post!!! :)
btw do you use the same camera lens for both food photos and architectural photos?
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Thank you!! Yes we do! We used to have the regular Canon lens that originally came with our camera (a Canon EOS Rebel T2i) but our cats recently smashed it to the flour so we had to buy a new one and we got a Tamron 18-200mm lens which we’ve been pretty happy with! Those pics were still taken with the Canon lens though. x
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Incredible photos! Actually, there’s a lot of research that’s gone into memory that shows most of our memories are not real. Which is a scary thought. However, it’s also incredible how creative the mind is and how it’ll fill in the holes with other memories and thoughts (like the “favorite stripey shirt”).
Your Own Queen
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Thanks a lot KNC! Yes very scary indeed… But also mind-opening in a way as you say. We have a really good French radio program talking about this sort of things called “Sur les épaules de Darwin”. Wish it were translated to English so more people could listen to it :). Wishing you lots of nice fabricated and real memories! x
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This pie is absolutely gorgeous. Love all the little embellishments on it and your photography is stunning as well!
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Thank you so much Linda! Yes I love making little leaves and flowers if I have extra crust. And they’re really easy to make!
You have a truly gorgeous blog too by the way… x
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Awesome content and pictures! How I wish I was a creative words like you! =)
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Thank you so much Jen :). I’m sure you are creative!!
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Uhm Not as creative as you are =)
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;-x
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perfect photos incorporated with right words! excellent!
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Thank you so much!! True pleasure to hear :)
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Oh my goodness! what a beautiful post with stunning pictures! great job :-)
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Thank you so much!! Very happy to hear you like it. x
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This is definitely on my to-make list. Beautiful post all round!
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Thank you as always Hilda! Would love to hear how you like the pie when you make it. x
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thank you so much this is good
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Thank you so much!!! <3
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Sounds (and looks) delicious
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Thank you again :).
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This sounds amazing!
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Thank you Jason! Enjoyed browsing through your lovely recipes too x
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