Roasted Sweet Potato Pie

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A silky, deeply spiced sweet potato pie that skips the watery boiled-potato shortcut. Roasting the sweet potatoes whole until they slump and caramelize concentrates their sugars, and a fully blind-baked all-butter crust means every slice has a crisp, flaky bottom under the custard. Brown butter, a little bourbon and plenty of nutmeg push it past holiday-default into something people ask you to bring every year.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 9 tbsp unsalted butter, very cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 tbsp ice water, plus more as needed
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 egg white (for sealing the blind-baked shell)

• 2 1/2 lb orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (about 3 medium)
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp bourbon (or 1 tbsp vanilla extract)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 1 cup heavy cream, cold
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Make the dough: Whisk the flour, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Add the cold cubed butter and toss to coat, then flatten each cube between your fingers into a thin shard. Work quickly until the mixture looks like a pile of ragged, floury flakes with pieces ranging from pea- to dime-sized.
2. Stir the vinegar into 3 tablespoons ice water and drizzle it over the flour. Toss with a fork, then squeeze a handful: if it holds together, it's ready. If not, add ice water 1 teaspoon at a time (up to 2 more tablespoons). Press the dough into a 1-inch-thick disk, wrap tightly, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
3. Roast the sweet potatoes: Heat the oven to 400°F. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork, set them on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, and roast 60 to 75 minutes, until they are completely collapsing and syrup is bubbling out of the skins. This concentration is the whole point — do not stop at merely tender. Let cool until you can handle them.
4. Roll and chill the shell: On a lightly floured counter, roll the dough into a 13-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Ease it into a 9-inch pie plate without stretching, trim to a 1-inch overhang, fold the edge under and crimp. Freeze the shell, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes (this is what keeps it from slumping).
5. Blind-bake: Heat the oven to 400°F. Line the frozen shell with a large sheet of parchment and fill it completely to the rim with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 22 minutes, then lift out the parchment and weights, dock the base with a few fork pricks, and bake 8 to 12 minutes more until the bottom is dry and light golden.
6. Beat the egg white with a fork until loose and brush a thin layer over the hot crust's bottom and sides. Return to the oven for 2 minutes to set into a waterproof seal. Reduce the oven to 350°F and leave the crust on the counter while you finish the filling.
7. Brown the butter: Melt the 4 tablespoons butter in a small light-colored skillet over medium heat, swirling, 3 to 5 minutes until the milk solids turn deep golden and it smells nutty. Pour into a bowl, scraping in every brown fleck, and let cool slightly.
8. Scoop the roasted sweet potato flesh into a food processor, discarding skins and any hard caramelized bits. You want 2 packed cups (about 1 lb 2 oz). Add the brown butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and salt and process 45 seconds until completely smooth, scraping down once.
9. Add the eggs, egg yolk, evaporated milk, cream, bourbon, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and lemon juice. Pulse just until uniform, about 10 seconds — over-whipping traps air and cracks the top. Pass the filling through a medium-mesh sieve into a bowl for a truly silky custard.
10. Pour the filling into the warm blind-baked shell (it should come to about 1/4 inch below the crimp; hold back any excess). Bake at 350°F on a rimmed baking sheet for 45 to 55 minutes, until the outer 2 inches are set and puffed and the center 3 inches still wobbles as one piece when nudged. An instant-read thermometer in the center should read 175°F.
11. If the crimped edge darkens too fast, shield it with a ring of foil after 25 minutes. Cool the pie on a wire rack for at least 4 hours — the custard finishes setting as it cools and slicing early gives you soup.
12. Whip the cold cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla to soft peaks. Serve the pie at room temperature or lightly chilled, in wedges cut with a warm knife, with a spoonful of cream and an extra grating of nutmeg.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

More from Sprig Originals

Frozen Chocolate–Caramel Peanut Nougat Bars

Blueberry Peach Buckle with Almond Streusel

Creole Cream Cheese Cheesecake with Salted Caramel and Dark Chocolate

Are you this recipe's original author or publisher? Report a problem