The first sweet potato pie was likely created by African-American slaves during the early colonial days. Recipes for the pie first appeared in the savory vegetables section of cookbooks in the 18th century, and by the 19th century, sweet potato pie was more often listed as a dessert. The sweet potato had become a culinary staple of Southern kitchens and following emancipation, the traditionally Southern dessert spread across the country. In the early 20th century, African-American scientist and inventor George Washington Carver developed more than 100 uses for sweet potatoes and helped popularize the vegetable.
Recipe Servings: 8
Prep Time
10 minutes
+ 2 hours resting
+ 2 hours resting
Cook Time
1 hour 35 minutes
Total Time
3 hours 45 minutes
Vegetarian
Vegan
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Kosher
Halal
Ingredients
Crust:
Filling:
- 1 sweet potato (weighing about 1 lb)
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup milk
- 2 eggs
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
- Mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the butter. Rub and pinch the butter into the flour using your fingers to coat the butter pieces and form small pea-sized balls.
- Create a well in the center of the mixture and add the water, mixing it together using your hands.
- Pull away walnut-size pieces of dough and smear them using the heel of your hand. This technique is called fraisage, and it helps produce flaky layers.
- Form the flattened pieces into a ball and then slightly flatten it to form a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Remove the plastic wrap from the dough and place it on a floured surface. Roll a floured rolling pin from the center of dough disk to the edge rotating the dough until the circle is an ⅛ inch thick and 12 inches in diameter.
- Wrap the dough around the rolling pin and lift the pin over the edge of a 9-inch glass pie pan. Gently unroll the dough over the pan. Lightly press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Crimp the edge of the crust by placing two fingers on the crust’s outside rim while placing one finger on the inside and pressing outward to form a V.
- Boil the sweet potato whole in its skin for 40–50 minutes or until softened. Rinse the potato with cold water and remove the skin.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Combine the sweet potato and butter in a large bowl, blending together using an electric mixer.
- Add in the sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla, beating on medium speed until the filling is smooth.
- Pour the filling evenly into the pie crust.
- Bake the pie for 55–60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the crust appears to be browning too quickly, cover it with strips of foil. The pie will puff up and then sink down as it cools.
- Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool before slicing and serving.
For Crust:
For Filling:
Recipe introduction and directions © Copyright 2016-2024 World Trade Press. All rights reserved.