About the Recipe
Chai Sweet Potato Pie with Vanilla-Cardamom Meringue
Yield: 1 pie
A deliciously spiced sweet potato pie topped with a luscious and creamy meringue scented with vanilla and cardamom. A perfect Thanksgiving pie!
You'll Need...
For the pie:
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced coarsely
3 1/4 cups of whole milk
3/4 cup of heavy cream
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 whole nutmeg
2 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla bean, scraped of seeds with seeds reserved for meringue
1 Tbsp chai masala
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 blind baked pie crust, use your own recipe, or recipe below
1 vanilla-cardamom meringue recipe, below
For the pie crust
115 g All purpose flour
1 stick (4 oz) cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup cold water
For the vanilla-cardamom meringue:
5 egg whites
1 cup of granulated sugar
All the vanilla seeds from above
1 large pinch of ground cardamom
Directions
For the pie crust:
Mix together the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter, and toss well to thoroughly coat the butter. Grab the butter between your fingers and pinch it to flatten it out.
Add the cold water, and stir to combine. Knead in the bowl until it comes together in a shaggy ball. Transfer to a well floured countertop and roll into a large rough rectangle. Fold two of the edges into meet in the center, then fold in thirds until a smaller rectangle is formed. Roll until it measure about 13 inches. If you have a 13-14 inch lid, trace it out, otherwise transfer the dough to the pie crust. Trim the edges, leaving about 1 inch of overhang. Roll this under, and crimp with your fingers and thumb, creating a rippled pattern.
Transfer onto a cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
To blind bake, preheat the oven to 350F, fill the pie with weights, I used beans and pie weights, and bake for about 40 minutes, until slightly golden. My oven is uneven, hence the variation above. Set aside to cool.
For the pie filling:
Combine the sweet potatoes, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla pod (scraped of seeds), nutmeg, cinnamon in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Continue to reduce and allow the milk to thicken, until reduce by about 1/3-1/2 in volume. The sweet potatoes will break down and largely disintegrate. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan intermittently so that the milk doesn't burn.
When it has reduced and thickened, take off the heat. Preheat oven to 350F. Blend the sweet potatoes with an immersion blender until smooth. Whisk in the chai masala, vanilla extract, salt, and eggs. Pour into the prepared pie shell and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, until just set in the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool until room temperature.
For the vanilla-cardamom meringue:
Wait until the pie is almost at room temperature before making. Combine the egg whites, sugar, vanilla seeds, and cardamom in a large heat proof bowl. Set a saucepan of water over high heat to boil. When it boils, reduce to a simmer.
Place the bowl on top of the simmering water, and stir continuously until the temperature hits 165F with an instant read thermometer. Once that temperature is achieved, transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high, until the sides of the bowl feel mostly room temperature. The meringue will be voluminous!
Transfer onto the pie, use the flat of the spatula to pull back and create peaks. Torch gently if you want a toasted look, and serve.
Additional Notes
Pie crust and filling adapted from Stella Parks at Serious Eats.
Meringue adapted from Hoosier Mama Book of Pie.
