Email to Cat      

Sky-High Sweet Potato Pie

Source of Recipe

From "Sweetie Pie's Cookbook" by Robbie Montgomery


Recipe Introduction

"During all my years of eating sweet potato pie — and believe me, I've tried plenty — I never could understand why they were always so heavy. One day I decided to experiment and see what would happen if I added more eggs to puff it up and some baking powder for extra rise. What I got was a pie that ballooned up in the oven and that tasted nice and light when it settled down. My fail-proof formula is two eggs to one sweet potato and one egg 'for the pie.' I like a lot of flavor in my desserts, so my sweet potato pie has more cinnamon, nutmeg, and extracts than you might be used to, but trust me, when you taste this pie you will forget every other one you've ever had. Add some sweetened whipped cream to the top and you'll want to eat the whole pie in a single sitting."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 store-bought piecrust
â—¦ 1 medium sweet potato
â—¦ ¾ teaspoon salt
â—¦ ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or margarine, melted
â—¦ ½ cup sugar
â—¦ ½ teaspoon nutmeg
â—¦ ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
â—¦ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
â—¦ ½ teaspoon lemon extract
â—¦ ½ teaspoon almond extract
â—¦ â…“ cup evaporated milk
â—¦ 3 large eggs
â—¦ ½ tablespoon baking powder


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Roll out a piecrust. Do this by flouring a work surface well and pressing the dough into a disk. Roll evenly in all directions, using a rolling pin, until you have a round crust that is 10 inches in diameter. This should be enough to fill the pie plate with a little overhang that you can tuck in or trim away after you fill the crust.

Line a 9-inch pie plate with the piecrust and crimp the edges.
Prick the bottom of the crust in a few places with a fork, then bake the shell for 15 minutes, or until it lightly golden. Remove from the oven to a wire rack and cool completely. Turn off the oven.

Place the sweet potato in a medium saucepan with enough water to cover it and add ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Place over medium heat, bring to a simmer, and simmer until the sweet potato is fork tender, about 1½ hours. Drain and cool enough so it can be easily handled. Peel and mash up the sweet potato. Measure out 1 cup (eat any extra).

Put the sweet potato in a large bowl and add the melted butter along with the sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and the vanilla, lemon, and almond extracts. Stir in the evaporated milk. Make sure the mixture is cooled completely, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after you add each. Stir in the flour, the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and the baking powder and beat well. Pour the filling into the pre-baked piecrust and refrigerate for 1 hour — this will allow the pie to puff higher when you bake it.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350° F.
Bake the pie for 40 to 45 minutes, until the pie is firm when jiggled and lightly browned on top.


Makes one 9-inch pie