Sweet potato pie recipe

Sweet potato pie is a deliciously spiced autumnal dessert. You may be familiar with the American classic, pumpkin pie, and this recipe takes similar flavours, but makes it much more accessible as you only need sweet potatoes, not canned pumpkin, which can be trickier to find in the UK. The spiced flavour notes from cinnamon and nutmeg make this a warming and comforting dessert, perfect served with a good dollop of crème fraiche. The natural sweetness and moisture of the sweet potato means that there is much less added sugar and fat than in other desserts, making this a healthier option when choosing a winter pie. When Autumn comes around, and the leaves start to fall, we go crazy for pumpkin spice everything, and this sweet potato pie is the perfect way to incorporate this seasonal trend into a pudding. To match the Autumn theme, we cut leaves out of extra pastry to decorate our sweet potato pie, but it is as equally delicious served up plain.

Ingredients

• 320g shortcrust pastry
• 1kg sweet potatoes
• 50g unsalted butter, melted
• 100g caster sugar
• 60g flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• zest of 1 orange
• extra pastry, to decorate (optional)

You will need

• 20cm tart case

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C
2. Roll out the pastry, on a floured surface, until slightly larger than your 20cm tart case. Line the tart case with the pastry, leaving the edges at a slight overhang, to allow for shrinkage, and pressing the pastry into all the corners. Chill for 10 mins.
3. Remove from the fridge and line the pastry case with baking parchment and baking beans. Bake blind for 15 mins, until lightly golden. Remove the beans and the baking paper and bake for a further 5 mins, until golden. Remove from the oven and trim the edges with a sharp knife.
4. Meanwhile pierce the sweet potatoes and roast for 50mins -1hr. The skins should easily peel off or you can scrape the potato filling out with a spoon. Mash the potato roughly with a fork and leave to cool slightly. You can blend the potato in a food processor if you prefer a smoother result.
5. In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, flour, spices and vanilla, then stir in the cooked potato. Add in the two beaten eggs and combine. Stir through the orange zest.
6. Pour the mixture into the pastry case and bake for 45 minutes in your pre-heated oven. (Optional: before baking, decorate your pie with a plaited crust and pastry leaves from your pastry off-cuts)