Easy Purple Sweet Potato Pie Chinese 5 Spice
It's a very purple-licious riff off of the Southern classic sweet potato pie! Paired with a gingersnap curst and topped with a pecan streusel, it's the ultimate comfort food dessert with a healthy twist!
Sweet and spicy gingersnap crust, nutty pecans and walnuts, warming and savory spices, zesty ginger… Let's make a spectacularly showstopping purple sweet potato pie!
Why this Recipe Works
- Slow-roasting the sweet potatoes! Caramelizes the natural sugars, bringing out their natural sweetness.
- Gingersnap crust! Delivers some unexpected spice and more flavor than a traditional crust.
- All the flavors! Sweet and spicy gingersnap crust, nutty walnuts, warming and savory spices, zesty ginger, crunchy coconut-pecan streusel, maple whipped cream… need I say any more? LET'S DO THIS!
- That preciously purple color! It's a showstopper!
The lightly spiced sweet potato filling is lusciously creamy and vibrantly purple!
How to Make this Recipe
Make pie crust in food processor and blind bake. Roast the sweet potatoes; peel and the flesh in food processor then whisk in remaining filling ingredients.
Pour filling into prepared pie crust and bake.
Make pecan streusel, top pie with it and bake for the last 10 minutes.
Serve with freshly whipped cream and enjoy!
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make pie crust -
whisk sweet potato filling
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pre-oven -
post-oven
Note: not all sweet potatoes are purple inside! Flesh can range from being light beige to purple, making for some *very* purplelicious dishes! But this pie works with any color on the sweet potato flesh rainbow ~ YAYA!
Sweet Potatoes vs. Yams
There's a bit of controversy surrounding if all yams are sweet potatoes (though sweet potatoes are def not yams) and after a bit of researching this is what I got for ya. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but most of the so-called yams ya see in US grocery stores are actually sweet potatoes. The story goes that back in the 30's Louisiana sweet potato growers marketed their orange-fleshed potatoes as "yams" to distinguish from the other states produce and its stuck ever since and created all sorts of yam-sweet potato confusion.Real yams are entirely different root vegetables that are more like yucca in texture and flavor, starchier and drier than sweet potatoes.
Conclusion: sweet potatoes and yams are different. We're talking sweet potatoes, here but you're welcome to try this recipe out with yams and let me know how it goes in the comments below. Glad we got that sorted out!
Cooks Tips
- Be sure to pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork several times so that steam can escape while they're baking.
- To make the purple hue filling an even deeper purple, add ube extract.
- To make this pie vegan, use coconut oil in the crust and streusel, coconut milk for the filling, and omit the whipped cream.
- The crust can be baked 1 day ahead and stored tightly wrapped at room temperature.
- Don't top the piping hot pie with whipped cream or you'll have a bit fat melt-y mess…
Add this spicy, sweet and vibrantly colorful pie to your dessert Holiday repertoire!
I'd love to hear about it and see it too! Please leave a comment below and take a pic and tag it on Instagram with @DanielaGerson. You can also follow meon Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to see more colorfully delicious food and all sorts of awesome adventures!
I like my sweet potatoes in all sorts of colors and sweet and savory ways. Mashed, roasted, and made into classic pies like this recipe here. For some sweet potatoes savory style, please check out my sweet potato salad, baked sweet potato fries, hasselback potato gratin and root veggie tarte tatin. And for another sweet potato dessert recipes, check out my sweet potato cheesecake!
Let's makes waves in the kitchen!
Purple Sweet Potato Pie
It's a very purple-licious riff off of the Southern classic sweet potato pie! Paired with a gingersnap curst and topped with a pecan streusel, it's the ultimate comfort food dessert with a healthy twist!
Servings: 12
Filling
- 2 pounds purple sweet potatoes or yams such as Purple Stokes or Ube
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ube flavoring
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon divided
- 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 kosher salt
Crust
- 10 ounces gingersnaps
- 1 cup walnuts
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
Pecan Streusel
- 1/4 cup oats
- 1/4 cup pecans
- 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Maple Whipped Cream
- 1 cup cream
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste can sub vanilla extract
- pinch kosher salt
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Preheat oven to 350 F. Pierce sweet potatoes several times with a fork all over and wrap each with aluminum foil. Bake in preheated oven until tender, 1 hr. – 1 ½ Remove from oven and let cool.
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While sweet potatoes bake, place the gingersnap cookies in the bowl of a food processor and process until they are finely ground. You should have about 2 cups. Add the walnuts and sugar; pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse briefly again until everything is mixed together.
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Pat the crust into a deep 9-inch pie plate, and up the sides. Bake for 10-15 minutes (at 350 F), until firm and slightly darkened. Set aside to cool.
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Peel cooled sweet potatoes and discard skins. Process yams in a food processor until mixture is smooth and forms a ball, about 1 minute.
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Place yam mixture into a large bowl and whisk in brown sugar, evaporated milk, 1/2 cup butter, eggs, vanilla, ube flavoring (optional), 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, five-spice, salt, and nutmeg until smooth and combined.
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Pour sweet potato mixture into prepared gingersnap pie shell. Bake in preheated oven until filling is set, about 50 minutes.
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Meanwhile, stir together oats, pecans, coconut, remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.
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Remove pie from oven; sprinkle center of pie with oat mixture. Return to oven; bake at 350°F until topping is lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer pie to a wire rack to cool completely, about 4 hours.
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To make maple whipped cream: combine all ingredients together and using a hand mixer, stand mixer, food processor or whisk and lots of elbow grease, whip until medium peaks form.
- Be sure to pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork several times so that steam can escape while they're baking.
- To make the purple hue filling an even deeper purple, add ube extract.
- To make this pie vegan, use coconut oil in the crust and streusel, coconut milk for the filling, and omit the whipped cream.
- The crust can be baked 1 day ahead and stored tightly wrapped at room temperature.
- Don't top the piping hot pie with whipped cream or you'll have a bit fat melt-y mess…
Did you make this recipe? Please share and tag @DanielaGerson! I'd love to see how you're making colorful waves in the kitchen!
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Source: https://wavesinthekitchen.com/sweet-potato-pie/