Holiday Celebration Pies (Recipe: Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan Streusel)

Two months ago, I teamed up with a small group of fellow food bloggers to create The Great Big Pie Bake-Off, wherein each month we choose a theme, pick a posting date, bake our pies, photograph them, and share our creations with the world. All bloggers are invited to participate, so if you’d like to play along—be sure to subscribe to The Great Big Pie Bake-Off for details on upcoming themes & dates.

The theme for December was Holiday Celebration Pies and I chose a traditional Sweet Potato Pie to celebrate the season. Accentuated by a crunchy cinnamon, sugar & pecan streusel topping, this pie is mild in flavor and smooth in consistency, with a texture ideal for easy slicing and serving. A nice change of pace from other seasonal pies such as pumpkin, Sweet Potato Pie is especially popular in the South where sweet potato dishes are standard for the season.

Adapted from my Williams-Sonoma Pie & Tart cookbook, the following recipe is incredibly easy to make and bakes up nicely with surprisingly little effort. More savory than sweet, this pie pairs well with other traditional flavors of the season and creates a welcome ending to any meal. If you enjoy the flavor of sweet potatoes or are looking for a savory alternative to sweet desserts, I hope you’ll give this recipe a try.

Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan Streusel

(recipe featured on Inn Cuisine, adapted from the Williams-Sonoma Pie & Tart cookbook)

for the pie crust

• 1 partially baked 9-inch pie crust (feel free to partially bake a ready-made crust if you’re short on time; alternatively, follow these 10 Easy Steps to Perfect Pie Crust and/or directions for How to Partially Bake a Pie Crust from the Inn Cuisine archives)

for the pecan streusel topping

• 3 tablespoons firmly packed, light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon demerara sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans

for the sweet potato filling

• 1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato (from 1 large orange-fleshed sweet potato or Garnet yam, approximately 12-14 ounces)
• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 & 1/4 cups heavy cream

To make the streusel, combine topping ingredients as listed above in a small bowl, mixing to incorporate. Set aside.

To make the filling, combine brown sugar, salt and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add the cinnamon, ginger and allspice, mixing thoroughly to incorporate. Stir in 1 cup of cooked, mashed sweet potato and the heavy cream, beating with an electric mixer or whisk until smooth and incorporated. Pour filling into a partially baked, 9-inch pie crust and bake pie at 350 degrees F in center of oven until filling is firm (about 20 minutes depending on the accuracy of your oven). Remove pie from the oven, quickly sprinkle the pecan streusel topping evenly over the surface, and return pie to oven and continue baking until the filling is slightly risen and firm in the middle, about 20-25 minutes longer. Remove pie from oven. Allow pie to cool completely, slice into wedges and serve. Top with freshly whipped cream if desired.

Yield: one 9-inch pie (6-8 servings)

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Tagged as: dessert recipes, Great Big Pie Bake-Off December 2009 Holiday Celebration Pies and pie recipes, pie recipes, savory dessert and pie recipes, seasonal pie recipes, southern pie recipes, sweet potato pie, sweet potato pie recipe, sweet potato pie with pecan streusel topping, Williams-Sonoma Sweet Potato Pie recipe with Pecan Streusel topping