It’s that time of the year again. The time for friends to come together and eat delicious meals made with love. It’s also the time to stress about what your contribution will be … What is something special enough to be remembered (and worth the effort), traditional enough for old-schoolers, and healthy enough with safe ingredients that everyone can enjoy? Hello, purple sweet potato pie. The gluten-free crust is light and buttery (you can sub coconut oil for ghee and it’s just as good), and the vibrant hue of the purple sweet potatoes makes it a showstopper. It may make grandpa’s eyes bug out at first, but it tastes just like a good, old-fashioned classic. Here’s the recipe:
Purple Sweet Potato Pie
Recipe Type:Dessert
Dietary Info:Gluten Free
Ingredients for the gluten-free pie crust:
1 cup tiger nut or almond flour
2/3 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup arrowroot starch, tapioca flour, or potato starch
½ teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
1/4 cup softened butter, ghee, or melted coconut oil
8 tablespoons ice water
1 egg, lightly beaten (don’t overmix)
Ingredients for the sweet potato pie filling:
3 cups pureed purple sweet potato (about 1 1/2 sweet potatoes)
2 eggs
¼ cup unsweetened almond milk (we love MALK), or canned coconut milk (the fat makes it closest to cooking with regular cow’s milk)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice (apple cider vinegar works here too)
½ teaspoon pink salt
Instructions for making the GF crust:
1. Add your nut flour of choice, coconut flour, arrowroot flour or starch of choice, and salt to a food processor or stand mixer.
2. Mix flour until combined and any chunks are smoothed out— you’ll have to scrape down the sides periodically.
3. Start adding oil and water one tablespoon at a time, continuing to mix between tablespoons. First, pea-sized beads will form and as you add, the dough should begin coming together.
4. Once you have added all the oil and water, add the lightly beaten egg and it should all come together in one big chunk.
5. Take the dough in your hands and smoosh it into a ball, then form a disk.
6. Wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze for 1 hour, then move it to the refrigerator.
Instructions for making the pie:
1. Poke holes in the sweet potatoes using a fork and roast at 450º F for 35 to 40 minutes in the oven until soft and sugars start bubbling out of the holes.
2. Allow the sweet potatoes to cool enough to handle. The skin should easily peel away from the flesh. You can eat or toss it.
3. Heat the oven to 400° F.
4. Place the potato flesh in a blender along with the rest of the filling ingredients.
5. Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and cut it in half (save the other half for another pie—you can freeze it for up to a month!). It’s a little crumbly, so smoosh it with your fingers into a pie dish until you get a thin (but not too thin) and even crust, and crimp the edges with the side of a fork.
6. Pour the sweet potato mixture into the pie crust and smooth it with a spatula so it has a pretty, swirly finish.
7. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 400° F, then lower the temperature to 325° F and bake an additional 30 minutes, until it doesn’t jiggle when shaken.
8. Allow the pie to cool for at least one hour before serving. It’s best served chilled from the fridge, so I advise making it in the morning or even the night before!
Top with berries, passion fruit, or coconut whip cream (Cocowhip is great; you can find it in the freezer section.) Enjoy!
Show us how you recreate (or modify) this delicious recipe and use hashtag #pooshpalate for a chance to be featured on our social.