The perfect balance: An all butter pie crust made with a touch of buttermilk. Sweet potato filling with layers of flavor from cinnamon, ginger, brown sugar, a little buttermilk, and lightened with beaten egg whites. Add billowing whipped cream sprinkled with fresh grated nutmeg, not too sweet, to top off a big slice of one of my favorites: Southern Sweet Potato Pie!
Even when I was little, I loved planting, harvesting, and eating homegrown sweet potatoes! I think I was around 5 years old in this picture.
Try baking in a glass pie plate to keep an eye on the browning. I hope you’ll try this recipe!
Disclosure: I only endorse products I have used personally and highly recommend. When you make a purchase through some of the links below, I may earn a small commission from Amazon.com at no extra cost to you.
Superboard Pastry Board
Southern Sweet Potato Pie
The perfect balance: An all butter pie crust made with a touch of buttermilk. Sweet potato filling with layers of flavor from cinnamon, ginger, brown sugar, a little buttermilk, and lightened with beaten egg whites.... and billowing whipped cream, not too sweet, to top off a big slice of one of my favorites: Southern Sweet Potato Pie!
Ingredients
All Butter Pie Crust:
- 1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cold, cubed
- 1/4 c. buttermilk (see notes for substitutions)
Sweet Potato Filling:
- 2 egg whites, beaten to soft peaks, set aside (reserve yolks for filling)
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 c. brown sugar, packed
- 2 c. sweet potato puree (see notes)
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 c. buttermilk (see notes for substitutions)
Homemade Whipped Cream Topping:
- 1 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbsp. instant white chocolate pudding mix
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- fresh grated nutmeg to sprinkle on top (optional)
Instructions
For the crust:
- In a mixing bowl, blend together the flour and salt.
- Add chilled butter cubes to flour mixture, toss with blending fork. Cut the butter into the flour until mixture resembles pea sized crumbles. (This can also be done in a food processor, but I've had better results mixing by hand. with a blending fork.)
- Drizzle in the buttermilk, and mix into a ragged dough. Gently press together and form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
- On a floured surface, roll dough slightly larger than a standard 9in. pie plate. Transfer to pie plate, flute edges (see video), and refrigerate while you mix the filling.
For the filling:
- In a small mixing bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add softened butter and brown sugar. Cream together. Add sweet potato puree, reserved egg yolks, cinnamon, ginger, salt, vanilla, and buttermilk. Whisk until smooth.
- Fold in beaten egg whites and pour into the unbaked pie shell. Smooth the filling out with a spatula and make a slight swirl design on top.
- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 25 minutes, depending on your oven. You may need to add a foil shield around the edges after the crust browns. My pie baked for 1 hour 25 minutes, and I added the foil shield during the last few minutes of baking. (See notes for tips on browning.) Allow to cool completely, and serve plain, or with dollops of homemade whipped cream topping.
Homemade Whipped Cream Topping:
- In a mixing bowl, slightly beat the heavy whipping cream until it barely starts to thicken. Add instant white chocolate pudding mix and vanilla. Continue beating until nice and thick. Use right away, or store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Try sprinkling a little fresh grated nutmeg on top for an extra special touch. Enjoy!
Notes
SWEET POTATO PUREE: I like to roast 3 good sized sweet potatoes, cool, peel, and puree thoroughly for the deepest sweet potato flavor. You can also steam, drain, and puree the sweet potatoes, but I prefer roasted for this recipe.
BROWNING: I'm using a clear glass pie plate to keep an eye on the browning of the crust. If the bottom isn't browning enough, just move to the lower section of your oven for several minutes. If your crust is browning too much, move the pie up a rack. Don't be afraid to brown this pie. Over an hour may seem like a longer than usual baking time, but browning gives this pie an extra level of flavor.
BUTTERMILK: You can swap the buttermilk in the crust and filling for half and half or whole milk, but I like the extra bit of flavor the buttermilk adds to this recipe. Highly recommended!