Homemade Sweet Potato Pie Recipe with Marshmallow Merengue

When I was a kid I wasn’t too adventurous when it came to trying new foods, and the holidays were filled with things I had never heard of.  We spent thanksgiving and Christmas at my grandparents’ house and we always hung out and ate in the basement.  When it came to dessert time there were the usuals, apple pie, pumpkin pie, ice cream, etc.  However, I do remember one time someone, can’t quite recall who it was (maybe my Uncle Jack), who brought a sweet potato pie.  I couldn’t quite grasp the concept of a potato pie because to this point all I had been used to seeing was a sweet potato baked or sliced up and cooked.  It took several years after that for me to even try it.  After that first bite, I was so mad at myself for consistently passing on such a delicious dessert for all this time.

I like sweet potato pie so much that I won’t even touch pumpkin pie if it’s around.  To me it is light years better than pumpkin pie and so much more flavorful, and with the marshmallow merengue on top you will be floored at the wonderful combinations in this homemade pie.  There are a few ways to prepare the sweet potatoes.  Some some folks boil them, but I prefer to bake them.  I always wash my produce no matter what, even if I end up peeling it.  My chef used to tell me that there are people just like you and me packing up these fruits and vegetables so it’s in my best interest to give them a rinse first.  With the Franke roller mat it has become incredibly easy to wash my produce.  The mat is malleable so you can roll it right over the top of your sink and from there use a hose extender or faucet to rinse your veggies.  If you have small fruit you can put in a colander and rinse it while it rests on the roller mat.  I like doing this because I’m tall so anything that can help save my back from constantly bending over, then I’m game.

While the sweet potatoes are cooking it’s the perfect time to make the crust.  I would say the crust, no matter the filling, is probably my favorite thing to eat in a pie.  It just brings about so much balance and a little saltiness to the pie filling making it perfect.  Not sure who invented the pie crust, but THANK YOU!  Since a pie crust only takes about 5 minutes to make I mold it to the pan and pop it right into the refrigerator to let the dough rest until it’s time to fill and bake.

Once the potatoes are done cooking you want to peel them and mash them.  You can absolutely do all this in a standing mixer, using a hand mixer or a potato mill, which is what I do.  Sweet potatoes mash pretty easy so don’t worry about being able to get them broken down.  Once you mix in all the goodies you fill up the pie crust and bake it for about an hour until it becomes firm on top.  Once things go in the oven I usually try to clean up a bit and get caught up in the kitchen before doing something else.  That same roller mat that was used to wash my potatoes became a drying rack for my dishes while I wiped down the kitchen.  Seriously this thing is AMAZING!

After I cleaned up I had plenty of time to make the marshmallow merengue, which will go on top of the sweet potato pie after it is done baking.  You want to wait until there is about 5 minutes left in the baking process before starting this since you want to put it on top immediately and get it right back in the oven.  Once your egg whites have reached medium peaks you fold in the marshmallow whip and mix it until it reaches stiff peaks.  This is really important for how I styled my pie with the tall little points sticking up out of the pie.  I used the Franke roller mat as a trivet for the hot pie after I pulled it out of the oven to keep my countertops safe.  You definitely do not have to do what I did for the topping so please feel free to add on how you feel comfortable.  Pop the pie back in the oven for a few more minutes or until the merengue is browned and you are good to go!  Sweet potato pie is delicious warm or cold, so take your pick!