BAKE:
1.5 hours
PREP:
30 minutes
YIELD:
8-10 servings
Ingredients
For the filling
- • 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 large sweet potatoes)
- • 1 cup brown sugar
- • 3 eggs
- • ½ cup heavy cream
- • ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened
- • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- • ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- • 3 cups raw pecans
- • ½ cup brown sugar
- • 6 tablespoons butter
- • ½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
- • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- • 2 large egg whites
- • ½ cup granulated sugar
- • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the crust
For the topping
Instructions
- Prepare the filling. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Rinse the potatoes and pierce them on all sides with a fork. On a baking sheet, roast the sweet potatoes in the oven until they are tender, for 45–60 minutes. Allow the potatoes to cool, then remove and discard the skins. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F.
- Place 2 cups of the sweet potato flesh in a large bowl; discard the rest or save it for future use. Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat the sweet potato on medium-high speed until it is smooth.
- Add the brown sugar, eggs, heavy cream, butter, vanilla extract, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and kosher salt to the bowl. Beat until they are smooth and combined. Set the filling aside.
- Make the crust. In a food processor, pulse the pecans until they are finely ground. Melt the butter. In a medium bowl, mix the pecans with the brown sugar, melted butter, ground cinnamon and kosher salt until it resembles wet sand. Press the pecan mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9” pie dish.
- Pour the sweet potato filling into the pecan crust and smooth it with a spatula or spoon. Bake the pie for 55–65 minutes, until the center hardly jiggles and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. (The filling will firm up as it cools.) Cool the pie on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before adding the topping.
- Make the marshmallow topping. In a small saucepan, bring 2–3 inches of water to a simmer. In a medium heat-proof bowl, combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar. Set the bowl over the pot to create a double boiler, making sure that the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk the mixture over the heat for 4–5 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the temperature reaches 160°F. (If you don’t have a candy thermometer, test if the mixture is ready by carefully rubbing some of it between your fingers; it is ready when it’s smooth and you don’t feel any sugar granules.)
- Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the mixture on high speed until stiff peaks form and it has doubled in size.
- Spoon the topping onto the sweet potato pie. Use a kitchen torch to toast the topping until it is golden brown. Slice and serve.
Gluten-Free Caramel Apple Pie
BAKE:
2 hours
PREP:
25 minutes
YIELD:
8 servings
Ingredients
For the pie dough
- • 2 ½ cups gluten-free flour blend
- • 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your gluten-free flour blend contains xanthan gum)
- • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- • ½ teaspoon baking powder
- • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
- • 4 tablespoons shortening
- • ¾ cup ice water
- • 3 pounds Granny Smith, Honeycrisp or other tart apples (about 6-7 apples)
- • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- • 2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- • ¾ cup homemade or store-bought caramel sauce
- • 1 egg
- • 1 tablespoon water
For the filling
Instructions
- Make the dough. In a food processor, combine the gluten free flour blend, xanthan gum if using, sugar, baking powder and salt. Pulse to combine. Cut the butter and shortening into cubes. Place them in the freezer for a few minutes if they are starting to soften, then add them to the food processor. Pulse until the butter is the size of peas.
- Place the mixture in a large bowl. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together (you may need a little more or less than ¾ cup of water). Form the dough into a ball, then slice it in half. On a piece of parchment paper, use your hands to shape each half into a disk. Refrigerate, wrapped, for at least 1 hour.
- Peel and core the apples; slice them into pieces about ¼” thick. In a large bowl, toss the apples, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt until the apples are coated.
- On a generously floured surface, roll one of the discs of dough until it is 12” in diameter and 1/8” thick. Carefully transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie dish; you should have about ½” overhang of dough. Pour the apple filling into the crust. Drizzle ½ cup of the caramel sauce over the apple filling and reserve the remaining caramel sauce for serving.
- Roll the remaining disk of pie dough into a 12” round. Cut the dough into strips about ½” wide. On top of the pie, weave the strips into a lattice crust, trimming them as needed. Fold the 1” of overhanging crust back toward the center of the pie to give yourself ample crust to crimp. Using your fingers, crimp the edges of the crust. In a small bowl, beat together the egg and 1 tablespoon of water to make an egg wash. Use a pastry brush to brush the crust with the egg wash.
- Bake at 350 ° F for 65–80 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. If the crust starts to brown too quickly during baking, loosely place aluminum foil over the pie. Let the pie cool for at least 4 hours before slicing it to allow the filling to firm up. Drizzle the pie with the remaining caramel sauce before serving.