Vegan MoFo Day 14: Sweet Potato Pie

My parents have some story about how they used to eat sweet potato pie in some diner in San Francisco back when they lived in Berkley... or something along those lines. For years and years they wanted sweet potato pie and they never had a recipe because the internet didn't exist. The details are hazy, but sometime back in the 90's the NY Times Magazine had a recipe for Sweet Potato Pie with Orange Crust and my mom demanded I make it (I was already the family baker at that point). It was good, and sweet potato pie is NOT like pumpkin pie. Ok, it's SORT OF like pumpkin pie in that it's orange and creamy. The flavor is not like pumpkin pie, however, and it is worth making, even in conjunction with what might be the more traditional pumpkin pie.

Years of making this pie later, I, of course, had to veganize it to make it once again a part of my Thanksgiving menu. The pie calls for three eggs, which I've replaced with a combination of tofu and Ener-G, something I rarely use but it does help firm up the filling. The pie crust is nowhere near as easy or workable as the pie crust recipe I posted earlier, and the pie is very good in just a plain pie crust as well, but I'll include the Orange Crust recipe anyway, in case you're feeling ambitious.

Sweet Potato Pie with Orange Crust
The Crust:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold margarine, cut into cubes
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into cubes
1/2 tsp orange zest
3-4 tbsp cold orange juice
1 tsp sugar
1 pinch fresh ground nutmeg

1. Sift together the flour and salt.

2. Cut in the margarine and shortening using a pastry cutter.

3. Combine the orange juice, zest, sugar and nutmeg in a small bowl, then mix it into the flour to form a dough.

4. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

The Filling:
3/4 cup pureed silken tofu
1 tbsp Ener-G Egg Replacer
1 cup white sugar
2 cups cooked and well mashed sweet potatoes (about 2 large taters)
1/3 cup unflavored milk of choice
1/3 cup Mimicreme (or nondairy creamer of choice)
1/4 cup melted margarine
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract
pinch salt
large pinch fresh ground nutmeg

1. Beat the tofu, Ener-G, sugar, and sweet potatoes together.

2. Add the milk and Mimicreme and stir until combined.

3. Add the melted margarine, orange juice, extracts, salt and nutmeg and stir until well distributed.

4. Roll out the pie crust and press into a 9" pie plate, crimping the edges.

5. Pour the sweet potato pixture into the pie shell and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

And of course if you want to get REALLY bizarre, you could use Ube, or purple sweet potatoes, in place of the regular sweet potatoes. It is some seriously purple pie!!

(Well he prefers the purple sweet potatoes, anyway.)