Sure, you could do a pumpkin pie. But this decadent Louisiana-style Sweet Potato Praline Pie is a stunner. The recipe is included in Maya-Camille Broussard’s new “Justice of the Pies” cookbook (Clarkson Potter, $30), which mixes stories about social justice heroes in among the tempting pie and quiche recipes. Broussard, who stars on the Netflix show, “Bake Squad,” owns Chicago’s Justice of the Pies, a bakery inspired by her father, who was a criminal defense attorney (and who, of course, loved pie.)
This sweet potato pie, Broussard says, offers “a nod to my paternal family’s Louisiana roots.” French colonists brought pralines, those decadent, pecan-laced treats, to Louisiana when they settled there. You’ll find those classic praline ingredients — evaporated milk, sugar, butter and pecans — in this pie’s custard filling and topping. And the rich sauce that finishes everything off is a caramelized winner.
“While I do love sweet potatoes,” Broussard says in the book, “I must admit that the praline sauce is my favorite part of this pie.”
And there’s additional good news for you holiday pie bakers planning ahead: The pie keeps in the fridge for up to a week or frozen up to two months.
Sweet Potato Praline Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie
INGREDIENTS
2 to 2½ pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 large)
Flour, for rolling out
Your favorite all-butter pie dough
1½ cups (330g) packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
½ cup (117g) evaporated milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup (93g) Broussard Praline Sauce (see recipe below)
½ cup (64g) chopped pecans
Vanilla Bean Chantilly Cream (see recipe below)
DIRECTIONS
Adjust a rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Wrap the sweet potatoes with foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake until extremely soft and a knife inserted into their thickest part meets no resistance, about 2 hours. Remove from the oven and cool for 20 minutes.
Halve each sweet potato lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop the potato flesh into a medium bowl (discard the skins). Mash the sweet potatoes until they are creamy and smooth. Remove and discard any visible fibrous strings. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, lightly flour the counter and roll the pie dough to a 12-inch circle. Carefully transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie pan. Roll the overhang to the edge of the pan and crimp. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using a hand mixer), beat together the brown sugar and butter on medium speed until creamed, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs and mix until well combined. With the mixer on, slowly pour in the evaporated milk. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and mix to combine. Measure out 2 cups (546g) of mashed sweet potatoes, add to the bowl and beat until the texture of the filling shows small white specks, about 1 minute.
Remove the pie shell from the refrigerator and place it on a baking sheet. Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake until the top is slightly browned and has a caramelized shine, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
Now is the perfect time to make the praline sauce.
When it’s done baking, remove the pie from the oven and cool at room temperature for 1 hour before using a silicone or offset spatula to spread the praline sauce across its entire surface. Sprinkle the finely chopped pecans on top and add a dollop of Vanilla Bean Chantilly Cream, if you’d like. You can also chill the pie in the refrigerator if you prefer a firmer, colder pie.
The pie keeps very well in the refrigerator for up to one week, or freeze for two months and defrost in the fridge.
Broussard Praline Sauce
Makes 1¼ cups
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
1¼ cups (295g) heavy cream
DIRECTIONS
In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the sugar until it’s fully coated in butter. Continue cooking the sugar, stirring every 2 to 3 minutes, until it reaches deep amber brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
Stir in the heavy cream. The browned sugar will get hard once the cold cream hits it — just trust and continue to stir until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to low and allow the mixture to simmer. The sauce along the sides of the pot will start to form a thicker film. Keep whisking and scraping along the sides of the pot, whisking the thick parts back into the center of the filling, until the mixture is an amber color, 30 to 45 minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 20 minutes. Pour the mixture into a glass jar with a lid (a mason jar or something similar works best). Once it comes to room temperature, the consistency of the praline sauce is spreadable. You can leave it at room temperature for up to 3 days— or refrigerate for up to 1 month. To quickly bring the praline sauce back to room temperature, fill a saucepan with a few inches of water, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and set the jar (with the lid on) in the water for 15 to 20 minutes. For a pourable consistency, leave the jar in the water for 25 to 30 minutes. Stir (it’s normal for some butter to separate) before serving.
Vanilla Bean Chantilly Cream
Makes 1½ to 2 cups
INGREDIENTS
1 cup (235g) heavy cream (with at least 35% butterfat)
½ vanilla bean
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
Place a stand mixer bowl and the whisk attachment (or a medium mixing bowl and beaters if using a hand mixer) in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes. While the equipment chills, pour the heavy cream into a measuring cup. Using a sharp paring knife, slice the vanilla bean lengthwise down the center of the pod. Gently scrape the seeds from each half of the pod into the heavy cream. (Try not to apply too much pressure or you may actually scrape up some of the skin.) Discard the vanilla pod.
Remove the mixing bowl and beaters from the freezer and pour the heavy cream into the bowl (make sure to scrape out any seeds that stick to the measuring cup). Whip the heavy cream on medium-high speed until it thickens slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Once the cream has thickened slightly, pour in the powdered sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form, about 3 more minutes (a soft peak will form at the tip of the whisk attachment). Turn off the mixer and pour in the vanilla extract. Fold in the vanilla using a silicone spatula.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use (you may need to give it a quick whisk before using). Chantilly cream is best used within 1 day of making.
— Reprinted from “Justice of the Pies,” copyright © 2022 by Maya-Camille Broussard. Photographs copyright © 2022 by Dan Goldberg. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House.
