Sweet Potato Pie

After ending up with a sizable amount of sweet potatoes in our veggie share boxes (from Cooper's CSA), I decided to take matters in a different direction. I always think of sweet potato pie as a southern specialty, but there is no reason why the deep south should be the only ones enjoying this pie. For those of you that know my obsession with pumpkin pie, you won't be surprised that this is close to that recipe. Predictable, yes. But still delicious!

Sweet Potato Pie

2 or 3 large sweet potatoes

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

2 eggs

1 cup whipping cream

1 - 9-inch deep dish pie crust - for one of my favourite crusts, go to http://moira-thegoodegg.blogspot.com/2008/06/rhubarb-custard-pie.html

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Wash and prick the sweet potatoes with a fork. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until they are soft. Let cool to room temperature (or burn the tips of your fingers like I did...) and scoop the flesh from the peel. Mash with a potato masher and use immediately or refrigerate until needed.

2. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Mix the brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg thoroughly. Whisk in the eggs. Add the mashed sweet potato, making sure that the mixture is well blended. Stir in the whipping cream. Pour into the prepared pastry shell.

3. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 F and continue baking 30 minutes longer, or until the filling is slightly firm and the crust is well browned. Cool completely and serve with freshly whipped cream.