by Twinkle VanWinkle, Indianapolis Star
This pie is traditionally a Southern Thanksgiving treat, with roasted sweet potatoes and whiskey, giving it serious depth and flavor.
I think roasting the potatoes, rather than boiling them, elevates the taste to new levels, and pairs well with the earthy tones of whiskey.
Holiday spice sweet potato pie
Yield 8-10
Ingredients
- 1- 10” 10-inch tart pan or 9-inch deep-dish buttermilk pie crust
- 2 cups mashed, roasted sweet potatoes (about two large sweet potatoes)
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoons freshly-grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons powdered ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons rye whiskey
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Peel and dice sweet potatoes, and place them on a lightly-oiled baking sheet.
3. Roast until potatoes are just tender enough to mash.
4. Remove from oven and cool. and then make the rest of the filling.
5. Reset the oven temperature for 375°F. degrees Fahrenheit.
6. In a large saucepan, mix brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, salt and butter.
7. Scrape potatoes into the pan with and stir in half of the heavy cream.
8. Cook on medium-high for 10 minutes, stirring and mashing together the mixture. this together.
9. Use a potato masher and mash out all the lumps out. For the best texture, use an immersion blender on pulse and blend until mixture is smooth.
10. In a small bowl, whisk together the rest of the heavy cream, eggs, vanilla and whiskey.
11. Temper the egg mixture by adding a little of the sweet potato mixture to it to raise the temperature before mixing it into the larger amount of sweet potato mixture.
12. Blend egg mixture and sweet potato mixtures, together and pour into a prepared pie crust.
13. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 325°F degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 35-40 minutes. To test the pie for doneness, shake the baking sheet or pie pan. If the middle has a real jiggle to it, it needs more cook time.
14. When done, remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes before serving to let filling set.
Notes
The sweet potato pie featured in the photo was baked in a 9-inch” deep pie pan and decorated with pastry leaves. Brush tops of leaves with egg wash (1 egg white + 1 tablespoon water, whisked) and sprinkle with sugar before baking.