Base - mix butter, sugar and salt, then flour. Press into 20cm/8" lined pan, bake 15 min at 180C/350F (160C fan), cool 15 min. Oven toast pecans 10 min (put in with base), roughly chop. Filling - bring butter, maple, sugar and salt to simmer, cool 5 min, whisk in eggs and vanilla, then pecans. Pour on base, top with maple coated whole pecans, bake 25 min.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced).

Grease a 20cm/8" square pan lightly with butter then line with paper, with overhang to lift out later. (Note 2 for scaling up)

Make base - Melt the butter in a microwave proof bowl. Mix in the sugar and salt, then the flour. Press evenly into the base of the pan (I use my hands first, then finish with a spatula to make it fairly even, no need to be meticulous).

Bake and cool - Bake for 20 minutes, then cool for 15 minutes before filling (keeps the base crisper but you can skip this).

Toast pecans - Spread the pecans for the filling on a tray and bake in the oven for 10 minutes (I put them in with the base). Remove, then when cool enough to handle, roughly chop.

Maple filling - Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix in the sugar, maple syrup and salt. Once it comes to a proper simmer, remove from the stove and cool for 5 minutes. Whisk the eggs and vanilla in, then stir the chopped pecans in. (You can set aside until ready to use).

Decorating pecans - Toss the pecans with the maple syrup.

Fill and bake - Pour the pecan filling onto the base and spread out evenly. Top with the Decorating Pecans. Bake 25 minutes.

Cool - Remove and cool fully to room temperature to let it set (~ 2 hrs, fridge will expedite). Then cut into 16 squares (or 9...) and eat with your hands!