Southern Sweet Potato Pie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to boil or bake sweet potatoes for pie? ›

As others have said, baking preserves more flavor and the flesh doesn't absorb water that would make the custard more runny. Like David Wilcox says, baking the sweet potato produces a deeper flavor. I find that baking them brings out a sweeter flavor as well.

As colonization expanded across the Americas, enslaved Africans learned how to cook sweet potatoes. Miller said the potatoes may have resonated among enslaved people because they're somewhat similar to yams, a root vegetable grown in West Africa.

Sweet potato pie boasts the same creamy texture of other custard pies. While that does begin with ingredients, how you bake that pie really affects that final product. If you over-bake it, it becomes dense and loses its satiny mouthfeel; if you under-bake it, it will never set up to slice.

Chef Paula Haney shares with Duff the bakery's recipe for the Fat Elvis Pie, which was inspired by Elvis Presley's love of peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches. The pie includes chocolate pastry cream, peanut butter filling and slices of banana in a crust made of graham cracker crumbs, dry roasted peanuts and pretzels.

Continue baking until the filling is set and doesn't jiggle when the pie is gently shaken, about 30 minutes more. Transfer the pie to the wire rack and let cool completely. (The pie can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.)

The cold water bath helps rinse the starch off the sweet potatoes so they're a bit more crispy. That said, if you do not have the time, you can still get crispy baked sweet potato fries by using high heat and a little drizzle of olive oil.

There is not much difference between boiling sweet potatoes with the skins on versus peeling them, but you will get a boost of fiber and potassium if you keep the skin on. The skin also adds a subtle texture to each bite. If you're looking for a smoother mash, peel the potatoes first before boiling.

Overmixing: Overmixing the sweet potato filling can lead to a mushy texture. When mixing, especially after adding eggs, mix and mash only enough to combine the ingredients. Overmixing can add excess air, leading to a softer texture.

North Carolina: Sweet potato pie

Though sweet potatoes are beloved all over the South, this orange tuber is especially bountiful in North Carolina.

As millions of African Americans left the South for different parts of the country, they took their love of sweet potato pies with them, resulting in a national profile for a perpetually regional dessert.

What are black peoples favorite pie? ›

What is the favorite pie of Black people? African-Americans today have continued the tradition of sweet potato pie with holiday dinners. So yes, sweet potato pie is a Black thing – easy enough for anyone to make, and everyone to love!

AVA said that sweet potatoes contain flavonoids (a type of anti-oxidant), and water-soluble pigments which may cause colour changes. "The greenish colour can be due to a natural occurrence, when the water soluble pigments in the cooked sweet potatoes are exposed to air," AVA said.

Note: Sweet potato pie can be left at room temperature up to two days without refrigeration. Can be refrigerated up to one week and remain fresh.

Made with pureed sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs and spices, this classic custard pie is one of the easiest sweet potato recipes to make. And like its cousin pumpkin pie, the flavor and bright orange color reminds you of the holidays.

Singer Patti LaBelle learned this pie recipe from her best friend and hairstylist Norma Gordon Harris. This sweet potato pie has a thin layer of brown sugar on the bottom crust. This "black bottom" doesn't just add flavor, it also helps keep the filling from making the crust soggy.

Ingredients for Patti LaBelle's Banana Pudding

To recreate Patti LaBelle's iconic banana pudding, you'll need sweetened condensed milk, cold water, instant vanilla pudding mix, heavy cream, ripe bananas and vanilla wafers.