Southern Sweet Potato Pie

Before you start

Sweet potato pie is a close cousin of pumpkin pie with a different personality: denser, butterier and more fragrant, with nutmeg usually leading the spice. Many Southern families have a version, and they differ on details such as evaporated milk versus cream or the amount of lemon; this recipe sits in the middle and is easy to adjust.

Roast the sweet potatoes whole instead of boiling them. Roasting concentrates their sugars and keeps water out of the filling, which gives a smoother, more intense custard. Blend the flesh well while it is warm and, if your potatoes are fibrous, press it through a sieve. As with any custard pie, take it out while the center still trembles slightly and let residual heat finish the job.

Ingredients

• Crust165 g (1⅓ cups) all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 85 g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter — cold, cubed
• 30 g (2 tbsp) cold lard or shortening
• 60 ml (4 tbsp) ice water — approximately
• Filling700 g (about 3 medium) orange-fleshed sweet potatoes — to yield about 425 g (1¾ cups) roasted flesh
• 55 g (4 tbsp) unsalted butter — softened
• 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
• 55 g (¼ cup packed) light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 180 ml (¾ cup) evaporated milk
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Prick the sweet potatoes a few times, set them on the foil-lined sheet, and roast for 50 to 70 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance and sticky syrup oozes out. Meanwhile, make the crust.
2. Rub the butter and lard into the flour and salt until coarse and crumbly. Add ice water a spoonful at a time until the dough holds when pressed. Shape a disk, wrap, and chill for 1 hour.
3. Roll the dough to 30 cm (12 in), fit it into the plate and crimp. Freeze for 15 minutes, then line with parchment and weights and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes. Remove the weights and bake 5 to 7 minutes more until the bottom looks dry. Lower the oven to 175°C (350°F).
4. Peel the warm sweet potatoes and weigh out 425 g of flesh. Blend with the softened butter until completely smooth. If you see strings, press the puree through a sieve.
5. Add both sugars, the eggs, evaporated milk, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and lemon juice. Blend just until silky, about 30 seconds; overblending whips in air that rises as bubbles.
6. Pour the filling into the warm crust and smooth the top. Tap the plate on the counter to release bubbles.
7. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the edge is set and slightly puffed and the center trembles a little when nudged. The center should read about 80°C (175°F).
8. Cool on a rack for 2 hours, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve cool or at room temperature.

Tips for success

• Garnet and Jewel varieties have moist, deep-orange flesh that blends smoothly. Pale, dry varieties make a stiffer filling.
• Grate whole nutmeg for this pie; it is the signature flavor and preground nutmeg fades quickly.
• Weigh the roasted flesh. Sweet potato sizes vary widely and too much flesh gives a heavy, pasty pie.

Substitutions

Evaporated milk

Use 180 ml half-and-half or whole milk with 2 tbsp cream. The pie is a little softer and less caramel-toned.

Lard in the crust

Use all butter (115 g). The crust is slightly less flaky and more buttery.

Granulated and brown sugar

Use 150 g light brown sugar for a darker, molasses-tinged filling.

Variations

Bourbon sweet potato

Add 2 tbsp bourbon with the evaporated milk.

Marshmallow-topped

Cover the baked, slightly cooled pie with mini marshmallows and toast them briefly under the broiler, watching constantly.

Troubleshooting

Filling is stringy

Some sweet potatoes are fibrous. Blend thoroughly while the flesh is warm and press it through a sieve.

Surface cracked

The pie baked too long or too hot. Pull it when the center still trembles and cool it slowly on a rack.

Watery, loose filling

The potatoes were boiled or the flesh was measured by volume. Roast them and weigh 425 g of flesh.

Storage

Refrigerate the cooled pie, covered, for up to 4 days. Do not leave this egg and dairy custard at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Freeze well-wrapped slices for up to 1 month; the texture becomes slightly looser after thawing.

Safety notes

An egg-based custard pie: bake it through and refrigerate it after cooling. Do not eat raw dough. Contains wheat, egg and milk.