Joyce Lindsay of Baltimore wrote in search of a good recipe for a sweet potato pie. She was hoping to make one for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year but no longer has a recipe.
Constance Methvin, also of Baltimore, shared her recipe for making sweet potato pie. She used to bake the pie for Bertha’s Restaurant and Bar in Fells Point and they were very popular. She made her pies with the flesh from freshly baked sweet potatoes and then used a basic pumpkin pie recipe using the sweet potato puree in place of the pumpkin and tweaking the spices just a bit. She said it’s possible to cheat a little and use canned sweet potatoes for convenience; if the spices are done right it will be hard to notice the difference in the finished pie. If you have the time, I would recommend you bake the sweet potatoes — it’s easy enough and I think it tastes better.
Methvin did not include a recipe for the pie shell, but just about any basic dough will work with this pie. If you are worried about making a pie crust from scratch, this filling is so good and rich that I think you can get away with using a store-bought crust. I prefer the ones in the refrigerator case to the frozen ones. This pie is so luscious, I don’t see any reason why you have to wait until Thanksgiving to bake one.
Sweet Potato Pie
Makes 8 servings
3-4 good-sized sweet potatoes
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. mace
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 heavy cream
3 Tbsp. rum
1 large egg white, beaten to blend
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell
Pierce the potatoes with fork. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour, or until they’re soft and slightly caramelized on the outside. Cut open; cool completely. Scrape the potato flesh into a bowl; mash until smooth. Measure enough potato puree to equal 2 cups.
Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven; preheat to 400 degrees.
Place sweet potato puree in large bowl. Whisk in brown sugar and then add the rest of the ingredients, except the egg white. Mix until smooth. Brush the prepared pie shell with beaten egg white. Transfer the filling to the crust.
Bake the pie until the filling is puffed around the edges and set in the center, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack; cool. (The pie can be made a day ahead, just cover and refrigerate it.)
