I confess, I never really liked pecan pie. Something about the gooey, gelatinous interior contrasting with the tooth-shattering pecan crust, , was just unpalatable to me. I finally gave in to pecan pie love at a barbecue joint in southern Texas, and was smitten. Rich with pecans with a slightly softer crust, it was perfect topped with some bourbon laced whipped cream (and shared with a certain someone who I’d eventually marry!). Then, once I made one for myself, after discovering pecan pie nirvana, I wasn’t too comfortable with the inevitable use of corn syrup in most recipes.

I’ve made a variation of this recipe every year, once a year, for my chocolate-loving husband on Thanksgiving. Each year has been a little different as I’ve worked on making it mine, and it’s only been this year (last week, actually!) that I finally hit my stride with a recipe I wanted to keep, turning it from a too-rich pie into an elegantly thin tart, perfecting the baking technique, and real-foodifying it just a little bit through using more natural sugars and nixing the corn syrup.

Don’t expect health food, however. It is a chocolate pecan tart, after all. An indulgence.

Just a sliver of it will suffice. Rich, deep chocolate with a crunch of sweet pecans. Perfect.