How to Make Sweet Potato Pie
The sweet potato is native to the Americas and has been consumed since prehistoric times. Artifacts portraying the sweet potato date back to 10,000 B.C. Sweet potato pie is a thoroughly American dessert particularly popular in African American and Southern cuisine. Sweet potatoes actually got their alternate name, yams, from black slaves, who found them familiar to the yams grown in Africa.
An early recipe for sweet potato pie comes from the cookbook What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking published in 1881 by Abby Fisher, a former slave. While her recipe calls for boiling the sweet potatoes to soften them, this recipe calls for baking the sweet potatoes in order to preserve the nutrients. Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of Vitamin A, as well as a very good source of Vitamin C and manganese and a good source of copper, dietary fiber, Vitamin B6, potassium and iron.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 lbs. sweet potatoes
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 3 large eggs
- 2 c. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- juice of 1 orange (about 1/4 cup)
- zest of half an orange, finely grated
- two 8-inch pie crusts
Directions
- Wash the sweet potatoes and prick them all over with a fork. Bake at 375 degrees for about 55 minutes, until they feel soft when you squeeze them.
- Scoop the flesh out of the sweet potatoes, add the butter and mash until smooth.
- Beat the eggs lightly in a separate bowl. Mash the eggs into the sweet potatoes, along with the sugar, salt and milk. Stir in the orange juice and zest.
- Divide the sweet potato pie filling evenly between the two pie crusts.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. If the edges of the crusts start to brown, cover them with aluminum foil.
Tips
- Don't wrap the sweet potatoes in foil when you bake them. You'll end up with soggy potatoes!
- For a fun holiday pie, let the pie bake for 35 minutes, then top the sweet potato pie with mini marshmallows and bake another ten minutes or until light brown.
