Sweet Potato Pie

In some areas of the country, especially the South, sweet potatoes make regular appearances at the end of the meal, yet for many of us elsewhere, it’s a surprise to encounter them in dessert form.

But they are called sweet potatoes for a reason!

This comforting, pretty and very simple pie makes a nice alternative to the more traditional pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.

It’s made even easier if you take the shortcut of using a refrigerated crust — one of the best inventions ever, in this casual pie maker’s opinion. But if you have a pie crust recipe you like, please feel free to use it here.

The best sweet potatoes are the small to medium ones, which are sweet and creamy.

Larger ones tend to be starchier. They should be firm and free of bruises or breaks, and their skin should be smooth.

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of the antioxidant beta carotene (choose ones with darker skins for more of it), and also contain high levels of Vitamin C and potassium.

Making the filling of this pie is simple, once you bake and mash the sweet potatoes.

Oh and if you are lucky to have any leftovers, be sure to tuck a piece in a secret spot in the fridge.

Ingredients of Sweet Potato Pie

10 medium sweet potatoes

1 refrigerated pie crust for a 9-inch pie

3 large eggs

Grated zest of 1 orange

⅔ cup sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon salt

150-gram Condensed Milk

1 tbsp Sugar

To decorate Marshmallows

Sweetened Whipped Cream to serve

For the Pie Dough:

350+ extra grams of All-purpose flour
1 tsp Salt
275 gram Butter
5 tbsp Ice cold water
1 Egg, mashed

How to Make Sweet Potato Pie

Bake the yams until they have softened completely – they should be extremely tender. Cool, discard the skin and then blend the flesh into a paste.

Mix the paste with the remaining ingredients and whisk well until everything is smooth and perfectly blended – you don’t want any lumpy bits in your filling.

Add the filling to your crust and bake(about 50 minutes to 1 hour). Make sure to let it cool, then place it in the fridge overnight.

For the Pie Dough:

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Prick the sweet potatoes in several places with a fork, and bake them right on the rack for 1 1/2 hours, until very soft. Leave the oven on.

Remove and cool the potatoes until they are just slightly warm, then peel the skins off, and puree in a food processor or blender, or pass them through a ricer, and place in a large bowl.

You should have about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups puree.

Unroll the prepared pie crust and fit it into a 9-inch pie plate.

Attractively crimp the edges of the crust. (Or if you’ve purchased a pre-made pie crust already in the pan, skip this step).

For the filling, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and orange zest. Whisk in the pureed sweet potatoes, and then add the sugar, cinnamon, ginger and salt, and whisk into the sweet potato mixture until blended.

Slowly whisk in the cream until well combined. Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust.

Bake the pie for about 50 to 60 minutes, until the filling is set.

You can test this by inserting a sharp knife near the center; when it comes out clean, the pie is done.

The pie will be a bit puffed up when it comes out of the oven and then sink slightly as it cools.

You can even make a wonderful criss-cross lattice design if you prefer.

Cool the pie completely on a wire rack.