Method

1. First make the sweet pastry. Mix together the sugar, egg yolks and butter in a large bowl. Sift the flour onto the buttery mixture and, using your fingers, rub it all together until you get a sandy texture.

2. Add the water and quickly press it into soft dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for a minimum of four hours.

3. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6.

4. Roll out the pastry and use it to line a 25cm tart tin. Prick the base and chill until required.

5. Melt the chocolate and the butter together in a heatproof bowl over simmering water; set aside.

6. In a medium sized saucepan, combine the sugar and corn syrup and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Set aside to cool.

7. Beat the eggs in a large bowl, then stir in the melted chocolate-butter mixture. Whisk in the sugar syrup mixture and thoroughly combine.

8. Add the vanilla extract and stir in the pecans. Set aside until completely cool.

9. Pour the pecan filling into the chilled pastry and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 180C/gas 4 and continue to bake for about 20 minutes until the pastry is golden and the filling is set.