Michelle Darmody: How to bake a sticky and sweet Pecan Pie

There are lists of reasons why pecans are beneficial for your health, but the best thing is they taste great

In this recipe the nuts form both a toasted, crunchy layer on the top of the pie and are embedded throughout the filling for texture and flavour.

We are lucky to have a steady supply of maple syrup in our home, brought to us from family members who live in Canada. They pack a big tin on return trips, and we savour it throughout the year in baking, on pancakes, in breakfasts or drizzled over a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

To make pure maple syrup, forty litres of sap is extracted from maple trees and simmered down to make just one litre of syrup. In the cold climates of Canada and other parts of North America the maple trees store starch to feed their roots through the harsh winter.