Sweet Potato Pie from Lexi Dilligard
After years of asking her friends and family members for their sweet potato pie recipes and getting a big fat NO, Lexi, of Lady Lexi's Sweets in Harlem NY tried her hand at recipes until she crafted just the right one.
A family run business, Lady Lexi Sweets is co-owned by the young pastry chef Lexi Dilligard and her Mom Sharon Gonzalez. They serve up cupcakes, monkey bread, birthday cakes, sweet loaves, brittle and mini sweet potato pies.
We are so thankful that this Thanksgiving, Lexi decided to share her not-so-secret recipe with us in this video!
As The Inherited Plate is all about paying it forward, passing on and sharing the wealth of delicious family recipes, we are so grateful to share this active member of the Upper Manhattan and Harlem community, her little NY sweet shop and this southern sweet potato pie (insanely delish) with our readers!
Serving Size: Serves 8-10
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust:
3 cups flour
½ cup sugar
10 oz. unsalted butter, cold, cut into pcs.
2 oz. shortening. cold
Pinch of salt
About ¾ cup ice cold water
For the egg wash:
1 egg yolk and 1 tbsp. milk for egg wash, beaten lightly together
(*makes 2 pie crusts which can be frozen for up to month. Defrost in fridge before using)
For the Filling:
15 oz. sweet potato
2 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
6 oz. canned evaporated milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 oz.unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
For the crust:
Mix together flour, sugar, and salt.
Cut in butter and shortening with your hands until you get pea size crumbs. Work quickly so as to not warm up the butter.
Pour in the water slowly and pull it together on a lightly floured surface.
Do not over knead.
Add water if it’s too dry a tbsp. at a time. If it's too wet add a tbsp. of flour one at a time.
Divide in two and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
To Assemble:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Peel and dice the sweet potatoes. Put them in a pan and cover with foil
Roast for 30-45 minutes or until tender. Puree the potatoes in a food processor. Transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool.
Remove one crust from the fridge and roll out.
Place in pie dish and crimp or decorate the crust. Poke holes in the bottom of crust with a fork or knife. Brush the border with egg wash.
Place a piece of parchment paper or foil onto the crust and add some dry rice, beans or pie weights on top.
Blind bake the crust until very light golden about 15-20 minutes.
Make a slurry with the flour and about 2 ounces of the milk and whisk into the potatoes.
Whisk in the remaining ingredients.
Pour into the par-baked shell and bake at 350 for about 3-40 minutes or until the center is set. Cool completely and chill in the refrigerator before serving. Serve with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.
