Ginger Pie, my-oh-my...

Ok folks, this recipe is a Hey Lady Grey original. I think it's the first baking recipe that I ever invented. I've made it several times now and I finally think that I'm ready to share it.

This very unique pie was inspired by an incredible tarte aux gingembre confit that I tasted in an adorably charming small town in France. After my first bite, I vowed to learn how to make it... or something similar to it. So I hunted all over the internet and in all my cookbooks for a ginger pie recipe, but I couldn't find one. Not one that was made with crystallized ginger like the one I fell in love with in France anyway.
So I experimented....
I based the pie filling on a pecan pie recipe, and I paired it with a shortbread crust infused with cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and black pepper. And the result was AMAZING! Not to toot my own horn or anything, but this pie is goooooooood!!!

Read on for the recipe....

Lady Grey's Crystallized Ginger Pie

(Tarte aux gingembre confit)

Crust
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1 stick + 6 tbsp unsalted butter (approx 200 grams), chilled and chopped into pieces

Filling
1 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp melted butter
2 whole eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
First make the crust. Mix the first 7 ingredients together (everything except the butter) in a large bowl. Then using your clean fingers, combine the butter into the flour mixture until you get coarse crumbs and the dough begins to stick together.
Press this mixture into an ungreased 9-inch tart pan, and up the sides to form a (more or less) even crust.  Prick the crust in a few places with the tines of a fork, and bake at 400 degrees until golden, about 20 minutes.
Remove the crust from the oven and turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees.

While the crust is baking, make the filling.

First chop up the crystallized ginger and set aside.

Then in a bowl, whisk together the remaining filling ingredients and set aside.

Once the crust is out of the oven, scatter the crystallized ginger evenly over the crust, then pour the filling over top (depending on the depth of your pie dish you may have a little filling leftover).

Cover pie with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and bake for approximately 20-30 minutes more.... or until the pie is set in the centre.

Serve with vanilla ice cream (a must!).