Sweet potato pie

Preparation

• MAKE THE DOUGH

  1. Butter and Sugar – In a large mixing bowl, beat ½ cup (one stick) of softened butter until smooth. Then add ¼ cup of granulated sugar and cream the two until light and fluffy. Gently add 1 large beaten egg, then 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix until well blended.
  2. Mix dry ingredients. In a second bowl, combine 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour and ⅛ teaspoon salt, mixing to incorporate. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until you have a crumbly, loose dough .
  3. Cool dough. Knead the dough into a ball and place it on a piece of cling film. Wrap the dough completely and flatten it into a disc, place in the refrigerator and let it cool for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 1 hour .
  4. Press out dough. Once the dough has cooled, you can either use your hands to press it out or roll out the pie dough to fit the pan. Make sure the dough rises slightly above the pie pan to accommodate for any shrinkage during baking.
  5. Blind Bake the crust. Fill your cake tin and put the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes or in the freezer for 15 minutes, so that it does not shrink. Heat your to 350°F (175 °C) and dip the pie dough and bake with baking weights for 8 to 12 minutes .

• MAKE THE SWEET POTATO FILLING

1. 1. Mix stuffing. In a medium mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, beat 5 ounces of room temperature cream cheese with a hand mixer or the paddle attachment. Once creamy, add 1 cup sweet potato puree, ½ cup light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla paste, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ¼ ground cloves. Mix until well combined.
   2. Add eggs. Add 2 room temperature eggs one at a time and mix well after each egg is added. Scrape sides of bowl, making sure all filling is fully combined . Put aside.

• BAKE THE SWEET POTATO PIE

  1. To prepare. Preheat your oven to 325°F. (163 °C) and get your blind-baked pie pan. Transfer the sweet potato filling to your pie pan and smooth with an offset spatula or press the pie onto your counter to spread evenly.
  2. Bake sweet potato pie. Place the pie on the center of the middle rack of your oven at 325 ° F (163 °C) for 40 to 45 minutes , or until the filling is set, puffed, and doesn’t shake when you move the pan.
  3. Cool and serve. When the cake is ready, remove it from the oven and let it cool to room temperature in the cake tin on a wire rack. Once cooled, the pie should be refrigerated for at least 1 hour before topping with the meringue if desired. You can also serve the cake like with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream !

• MAKE THE MERINGUE TOPPING

1. 1. Beat the egg whites stiff. Using your food processor, beat 4 room-temperature eggs on medium speed until they reach soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Then gradually add 1 cup of sugar, then ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form and resemble marshmallow fluff .
   2. Test the meringue. Test the texture of the meringue by rubbing a small portion between your fingers. Once you no longer feel the graininess of the sugar , it is completely dissolved. Add ½ tsp vanilla paste and continue beating on high speed until meringue is stiff and glossy.
   3. Top the cake. When the meringue is ready, you can scoop the meringue onto your cake and spread it to the edges with a spatula or use a piping bag. If you like, you can use a kitchen torch to lightly brown the outside of the meringue.