OMG, the sweet potato flavor of this pie shines through! The recipe is Libby’s pumpkin pie recipe from the can, with added coconut milk. The coconut milk brings island flavor to a traditional Southern treat and helps to thin out the dense sweet potatoes. If you have an extra ¼ cup of sweet potato, just add it in with an additional splash of coconut milk. Thick batter will crack more easily as it bakes than thin batter, but both will all be fine. And the taste, AMAZING. Extra batter cooks well in buttered ramekins alongside the pies in the oven – and they are delish too.

You may also use the Okinawan purple sweet potato. It’s creamier and a little sweeter. The purple color is not as intense as the NC Stokes variety, but it’s still delish.

Pacific Daily News article: Purple Kamuti Pie

INGREDIENTS

Set 1

1 deep dish 9-inch pie crust, thawed

Set 2

1 ½ cups or about 375 grams of cooked and mashed purple sweet potatoes

12 ounces or 355 milliliters evaporated milk

½ cup or 118 milliliters coconut milk

2 large, whole eggs or about 114 grams

¾ cup or 150 grams granulated sugar

1 ½ teaspoons or 4 grams ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon or 1.3 grams ground ginger

½ teaspoon or 2.85 grams salt

Tools: Fork, large-capacity blender, 4-cup pitcher, half-sheet pan

DIRECTIONS

Rinse the potatoes then pat dry. Wrap in heavy-duty aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or 177 Celsius, for 90 minutes. Push on the foil-wrapped potatoes. If the potatoes are soft, they are done; if not, bake another 10 minutes. Cool completely. You may use once cooled. To save for later, once cooled, set in fridge overnight. The next day, seal in vacuum sealer bags or Ziploc storage bags and freeze. Thaw the night before you need it.

Set the oven rack on the bottom third of the oven. Place the sheet pan on that rack and preheat at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, or 204 degrees Celsius.

Use the fork to gently pierce a thawed-out pie crust along the rims and on the bottom. Set aside.

Put all the pie ingredients in a large-capacity blender. Blend on low to medium speed till well combined. Scrape down sides of blender once then puree a few more seconds. Transfer the batter to the smaller pitcher.

Pull out the oven rack that has the sheet pan. Place the pie crust on the sheet pan then fill it with the batter from the pitcher.

Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the temp to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or 177 Celsius. Bake another 25 minutes. Check the pie. If the top jiggles a lot, bake another 2 minutes. Check again. If the top jiggles a little, it’s done. If you overbake the pie, it will tend to crack in the middle – but it will still be delish. Set on wire rack to cool to room temp. Continue to cool uncovered in the fridge overnight so the pie sets properly.

This pie freezes and thaws beautifully, even the crust on the rim stays crunchy. Once cold, wrap the entire pie in plastic wrap then in heavy duty foil. Thaw in fridge overnight when ready to eat.