Old-fashioned butterscotch pie

Pulse two cups of all purpose flour and a teaspoon of salt in a food processor. Add six tablespoons each of chilled chopped butter and chilled vegetable shortening and pulse to coarse crumbs.

Add up to a third of a cup of iced water a tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together when pinched. Form a disc and chill until firm.

Roll out on a floured surface to fit the pie dish, line the dish, add tinfoil and raw chickpeas as pie weights, and freeze 10 minutes.

Par-bake at 450F for 12 to 13 minutes.

Patch any cracks and holes with wet fingers and scraps of raw dough, and prick the base with a fork.

Bake at 400F for seven to eight minutes to finish the shell.

Optional: scatter half a cup of chopped pecans over the base of the shell.

Put three egg yolks in a medium bowl. In a 10 inch frying pan over moderate heat melt three quarters of a stick of butter and brown it slightly.

Stir in a cup of dark brown sugar, bring to a boil and boil three minutes.

First attempt discarded: the butter was browned too far and the base tasted burnt. The second attempt uses the same figures.

Off the heat, stand back and add a cup of boiling water; it bubbles up furiously. Stir to mix. Leave on the heat a minute or two longer if crystallised sugar remains, until it dissolves.

Combine two tablespoons of flour, three tablespoons of cornstarch and half a teaspoon of salt and sift them into the brown sugar mixture.

Stir constantly over low-medium heat until it comes to a boil, and boil one minute.

Temper the egg yolks with a few large spoonfuls of the hot mixture, whisking fast, then whisk the rest in.

Warm a cup and two thirds of milk and whisk it in until smooth.

Return to the pan, bring to a low boil and simmer one minute, stirring.

Off the heat, stir in one and a quarter teaspoons of vanilla extract, then fold gently in a large bowl until the steam escapes and the mixture cools.

Pour into the fully baked shell over the pecans and refrigerate several hours.

Whip a cup of heavy cream with two tablespoons of confectioners sugar and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract in a chilled bowl with chilled beaters to stiff peaks.

Spoon the whipped cream around the rim and into the centre, and swirl with the back of a spoon on a turntable.