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Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients

For the pie crust

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 6 tablespoons Granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
  • 1/2 cup 1 stick Unsalted butter, very cold
  • 2 Large eggs lightly beaten

For the sweet potato pie filling

  • 2 Large Sweet potatoes or Yams peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
  • 1 cup Light brown sugar packed
  • 1 cup Granulated sugar
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
  • 2 12 ounce cans Evaporated milk
  • 1 cup Heavy cream
  • 1 Large cinnamon stick
  • 3 teaspoons Ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons Ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon Freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
  • 3 large Eggs

Instructions

To prepare the pie crust:

  • Combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in medium sized bowl and set aside. Cut the butter into 1 in pieces. Add them to the flour, distributing evenly. Rub the butter pieces into the flour using your fingers, until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
  • Alternatively, you can add the flour and butter to a food processor and pulse a few times until the butter is incorporated into the flour and it resembles coarse meal.
  • Add the eggs to the flour mixture and mix gently with the flour. Be careful not to over mix. It is OK if you see pieces of dry flour. The liquids will incorporate during rest time. Gather the dough into a rough cylinder, wrap with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about 30-45 minutes. Note: Pie dough can be made days in advance and will keep for about a month in the freezer.

To make the pie filling:

  • Peel your sweet potatoes and cut into 2 inch pieces. To an 8 quart heavy bottomed pot, add the sweet potato chunks, brown sugar, granulated sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, evaporated milk, heavy cream, cinnamon stick, ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, salt and vanilla extract. Cook, covered over medium/low heat until the sweet potatoes are very tender, about 30 minutes.
  • Turn off the heat and remove the cinnamon stick (I forget this ALL THE TIME, so I thought I'd remind you). Puree the mixture until smooth with an immersion blender. You can also transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth in batches. Allow the puree to cool for about 10 minutes, then whisk in the beaten eggs into the puree until they are fully incorporated. Set aside while you blind bake the crust.

Blind baking pie crust:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove pie dough from the refrigerator. Unwrap and cut the dough in half. On a floured surface, roll out the pie dough. We are aiming for about a 12 in. round. Transfer the dough to a 9 inch pie tin. Fold over the overhang and crimp the edges decoratively. Repeat with second piece of pie dough. Place pie shells in the freezer for 10 minutes.
  • Remove pie shells from freezer and fill with baking beads (you can also you rice or dry beans).Blind bake the crusts for about 12 minutes. The crust must still be very light. I find that blind baking prevents crusts that hold a custard base from getting soggy. Remove the crust from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

To bake the pie:

  • Pour the filling into the baked pie shells. Wrap the edges of the crust with strips of aluminum foil. Bake until the sweet potato pie filling is mostly set, but still a bit jiggly in the center, about 40 minutes. Remove pie from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving.