Southern sweet potato and pecan pie

 It is mid-March here in Johannesburg, and Fall is rapidly creeping in. Mornings are getting cooler, leaves are starting to fall, and I am now craving food I would normally expect to find around October or November in the Northern Hemisphere. Hence this typical Southern dessert that classically adorns every table at Thanksgiving. It's all about the contrast of textures: soft creamy sweet potato, crispy crust and crunchy pecan topping.

 

Ingredients

Pie Crust

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup very cold unsalted butter cut in cubes
1/4-1/3 cup very cold water

1 egg (for egg wash)

Sweet Potato Pie Filling

1 cup sweet potato mashed

1/4 cup salted butter melted and cooled
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Pecan Pie Topping

1 large egg room temperature and beaten
1 1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp light brown sugar packed
1/3 cup Karo’s Corn Syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the crust

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt.

Next, add the cold butter cubes to flour and, using your pastry cutter or hands, cut the butter into the flour mixture until sandy texture.

Slowly add the cold water into the flour until a ball of dough forms. Start with a ¼ cup and add more water if needed. Knead the dough quickly to bring it together. 

Remove the dough from the bowl, round into a ball and wrap in cling film. Let rest in the refrigerator for 45-55 minutes.

Make the Sweet Potato Pie Filling

Using a hand mixer and a large bowl, whisk together sweet potato, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg until smooth then set aside.

Make the Pecan Pie Filling

In a large bowl, combine the beaten egg, pecans, both sugars, corn syrup and vanilla.

Assemble

Preheat the oven to 200¨C/400°F.

Remove dough from the fridge and add a bit of flour to a working surface or clean counter and place dough on it. Using a rolling pin, quickly roll dough out to about 1/4-1/3 inch thickness and place in your pie plate. Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.

Remove the crust from the freezer, line with parchment paper and add pie weights. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove parchment paper and weights, brush crust with egg wash (just 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of water whisked together) then bake for 10 minutes or until a pale golden color.

Remove crust from the oven, reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Slowly pour sweet potato filling into the crust and carefully cover with a piece of aluminum foil.   

 

Put the pie back in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes.

Remove pie from the oven and let rest (covered) for 10 minutes. Then, gently spoon the pecans over the top of the pie.

Place pie back in the oven and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until pie is set and the crust is golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. Refrigerate overnight. Serve with whipped topping or vanilla ice cream, if desired.