Base

1. Preheat oven to 160°C convection/fan assisted (350°F non-convection).
2. Line and butter a 20×20 cm square baking pan (9×9 inches). Make sure the parchment paper covers the edges too: try to let some parchment paper “overhang”, so you can lift the finished bars out of the pan.
3. Cream the butter, brown sugar and flour in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed. The dough will come together quite quickly. If it is very sticky, add some more flour.
4. Add the salt and vanilla. Mix well.
5. Take big chunks of dough and press into the baking pan. Use all of the dough! To make the base as even as possible, use a glass to press the dough into the pan.
6. Prick some holes into the base using a fork.
7. Bake for 15 minutes until light brown and golden.
8. Take the pan out of the oven and let cool for about 10-20 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the filling.

Filling

1. In a small pot, melt the brown sugar and maple syrup over medium-high heat until just boiling. Pour in the milk and vanilla extract and cook for another 5-10 minutes on low heat.
2. In a bowl, beat the eggs on medium-high speed until pale and slightly fluffy. Stirring on low speed, slowly (!) pour in half of the maple syrup mixture to temper the eggs. If you pour the eggs into the hot syrup mixture you will end up with cooked eggs!
3. Once tempered, pour the whole egg mixture back into the pot, stirring constantly.
4. Add in the flour and salt, stirring further. Take pot off the heat.
5. Pour ¾ of the chopped pecans into the filling and stir with a spatula. Pour the whole mixture onto the pre-baked base. Shake the pan slightly so the filling spreads.
6. Sprinkle on the remaining pecans – if desired, sprinkle on 5-10 additional pecans.
7. Bake the bars for 35-45 minutes at 160° C convection/fan-assisted (350°F). After 35 minutes, insert a toothpick. It should come out clean, and the filling should jiggle around slightly (if the filling isn’t baked enough, continue baking in 5-minute intervals, testing each time).
8. Take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle on some flaky sea salt. Let cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Lift the whole maple pecan bar-block out of the pan and cool on a cooling rack in the fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight.
9. When ready to serve, cut the block into 9 or 16 squares, or about 15 or 18 rectangles – either looks pretty. If desired, sprinkle on some more chopped pecan nuts. Enjoy!