The pecan tree is the official tree of the state of Texas in the United States. That is not surprising because today there are over 70 million wild pecan trees in the state, and Texans are the world's greatest consumers of pecan nuts. The pecan tree is a cousin of the hazelnut and the walnut. It is a native of North America, and almost certainly one of the trees that were growing wild in the continent before anyone decided to `civilize' it. This tree does not grow in any other part of the world, making it a great favorite of the American people. This is the reason why the month of April is named the National Pecan Month in the country, honoring its pure American heritage. In fact the pecan tree was growing wild in the country, when the first humans crossed Bering Strait from Asia to the new continent, about 10,000 years ago. The nutritive quality of the pecan nut was known to those people, and along with walnuts and hazelnuts, the pecan nut was also stored as winter food, when hunting or gathering was difficult. Today, ten thousand years later, humans have learned to make one of the most delectable all-American dishes, the Pecan Pie, with its rich, dark, custard-like filling and heavily encrusted, crunchy pecan topping. The pie has seen a number of experiments, with a wide variety of additions like chocolate, molasses, bourbon, sweet potato, cinnamon apples, vanilla, maple syrup, and even a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the top. Pecan Pie For the pastry (pie base): 1 cup plain flour ¼ cup cubed butter 2 tbsp castor sugar 1 egg yolk Filling: ¾ cup golden syrup ¼ cup butter 1/3 cup brown sugar 3 eggs 1 and a ½ cup pecan nuts, halved ½ tsp vanilla essence To make the pie base, crumb together the flour and butter with fingers. Then add the eggs, sugar and about 1 tablespoon of cold water and knead to form a smooth dough. Roll out the dough and use to line an 8 inch pie tin. Prick the base. Refrigerate for about half an hour. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C. Then bake the pastry base for about 10 minutes. Heat the syrup, sugar and butter till the sugar dissolves. Cool slightly then add the eggs and vanilla essence. Lastly, stir in the pecan nuts. Pour the mix into the pastry case and bake for about 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream of choice, preferably a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.