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Purple Sweet Potato Pie with Toasted Blue Italian Meringue
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Purple Sweet Potato Pie

Purple Sweet Potato Pie with a mound of an Italian meringue inspired by Esther Williams (anyone younger than me will have to google her).
Course: Dessert

Ingredients

  • One 9-inch deep dish crust RECIPE HERE (see note)
  • 24 oz (680g) purple sweet potato puree (see note)
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 3/4 cup (150g) sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract Homemade Vanilla Extract Recipe
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom extract
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon extract

Italian Meringue

  • 2 cups (400g) sugar
  • 1 tbsp corn syrup
  • 3/4 cup purple sweet potato cooking water strained through a fine mesh sieve
  • 6 egg whites
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom extract
  • 1 egg beaten (for brushing crust)

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 325°F.
  • To make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk together the sweet potato puree, evaporated milk, sour cream, sugar, salt, extracts and eggs. Pour into the blind baked pie shell and paint the edge of the crust with the egg wash.
  • Bake the pie for about 75 minutes (may take longer depending on the temperature of the ingredients when they go in the oven) or until the sides start to puff and the middle is set, but still slightly wobbly. Cool completely, about 3 hours. The pie will be easier to cut once completely cool or refrigerated.

Italian Meringue

  • Prepare this and pile on JUST BEFORE SERVING! In a small sauce pan fitted with a Candy Thermometer, bring the sugar, purple potato water and corn syrup to a boil over medium-high heat. If any of the sugar crystals get onto the side of the pan, be sure to wipe them down with a wet clean pastry brush. The sugar needs to cook until it hits 248° F on the thermometer. This takes several minutes. Once the sugar syrup has reached 235° F, whip the egg whites in your stand mixer until they are medium peaks.
  • Once the sugar reaches the final temperature of 248°F, slowly pour it into the bowl of whipped egg whites while the beater is going on slow. Be sure to pour it along the bowl so that the hot syrup doesn’t hit the beater and splatter. Allow the eggs and sugar mixture to beat on medium high speed until the meringue is light, fluffy, glossy and bright blue. Add the extract and whip for another 30 seconds.
  • Mound half the meringue onto the chilled pie. Pipe the remaining meringue onto the mound to create a pattern. Toast the meringue with a Blow Torch just before serving.

Notes

*Blind baking details: Be sure to use a deep dish pie plate. After the dough is in the pan and you’ve frozen it for at least 15 minutes, fill with pie weights, bake at 350°F for about 20+ minutes or until it is golden brown on the edge and set (dry looking in the middle).
*I cooked 2 large Frieda's stokes sweet potatoes in boiling water until tender, strained off the water, reserving it for the puree and meringue. I pureed the sweet potato in a food processor and added some of the cooking water until I had the consistency of canned pumpkin.