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One of the biggest food holidays of the year is almost here, and if you’re anything like us you can’t wait to chow down on delicious eats you’ve been dreaming of all year long. So what’s the one item on the Black Thanksgiving table that we can’t wait to get our hands on – sweet potato pie!
Now listen, not everyone in the family is worthy of whipping up this delectable dessert straight from the ancestors, so when it comes to who is going to be trusted to bring the pie for the big event, it needs to be serious business. If the lucky person up to bat this year happens to be you and you’re dreading big momma’s side-eye if you mess it up, you’re in luck.
We’ve rounded up three recipes by Black cooks (so you know the flavor will be real!) for sweet potato pie that will have tongues wagging at the Thanksgiving table, but in a good way. Good luck and let the ancestors be with you!
01
Southern Sweet Potato Pie
INGREDIENTS:
6 medium sweet potatoes
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, finely ground
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 unbaked pie crust, 9 inch
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Bake sweet potatoes for 1 hour in the oven on a baking sheet. When done, let cool slightly. Peel the skin off of the potatoes and rice them, with a potato ricer, into a large bowl. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and brown sugar until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, spices, and salt. Add evaporated milk, then add mixture to sweet potatoes in the large bowl. Beat together with whisk or electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Pour into your unbaked pie shell. Bake on bottom rack of oven for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until center of pie is firm. Serve warm or let cool completely with a dollop of whipped cream.
via Sweet Tea & Thyme
02
Chef Garvin’s Sweet Potato Pie
INGREDIENTS:
6 yams or sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 9-inch pie shells
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake whole potatoes for 1 hour or until soft. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and mash them in a large bowl. Add sugar, eggs, condensed milk, cream, butter, vanilla, and cinnamon; mix well.
Prebake pie shells in the 350 F oven for 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and pour sweet potato mixture evenly into shells. Bake for 35 minutes more or until firm.
via Chef G. Garvin
03
Patti LaBelle’s Sweet Potato Pie
INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE CRUST
1 1/2 cups flour, plus more for the work surface
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter-flavored vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 cup ice water
1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
FOR THE FILLING
Salt
3 large orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, scrubbed
7 tablespoons (most of 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup half-and-half
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
DIRECTIONS:
For the crust: Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the shortening. Use a fork or a pastry blender to cut the shortening into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few pea-size bits.
Stirring with the fork, gradually add enough of the water until the mixture clumps together (you might need more or less water). Gather up the dough and press it into a thick disk. If desired, wrap the dough in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and as long as 3 days.
Lightly flour a work surface. Place the chilled dough on it; roll out to a round that’s 13 inches across. Fold the dough in half.Transfer to the pie plate; gently unfold the dough to fit into it. Trim the dough as needed to leave a 1-inch overhang. (Bake or reserve the scraps for another use.)
Fold the dough under itself so the edge of the fold is flush with the edge of the pan. Flute the dough around the edge of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you start the filling (and up to 1 hour).
For the filling: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add a generous pinch of salt, then the sweet potatoes. Reduce the heat to medium; cook until the sweet potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Drain the sweet potatoes, letting them fall into a colander. Run under cold water until cool enough to handle. Discard the skins; transfer the cooked sweet potatoes to a mixing bowl. Use a hand-held electric mixer to blend until creamy and smooth. You’ll need 3 cups for the filling; scoop out the remainder and reserve for another use.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Uncover the pie shell; brush the interior with the 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of brown sugar over the bottom of the pie shell. Par-bake until the crust is set and just beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. (If the pie shell puffs, do not prick it.) Let it cool.
Meanwhile, add the 7 tablespoons of melted butter, brown sugar, the granulated sugar, eggs, half-and-half, cinnamon and nutmeg to the pureed sweet potatoes. Beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Pour into the par-baked pie shell, smoothing the surface. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake (middle rack) until a knife inserted in the center of the filling comes out clean yet the filling still jiggles a bit, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Adapted from “LaBelle Cuisine: Recipes to Sing About,” by Patti LaBelle (Clarkson Potter, 1999).
