Chai Sweet Potato Pie with Vanilla-Cardamom Meringue

November 23, 2016
Chai Sweet Potato Pie with Vanilla-Cardamom Meringue

Happy Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is my absolutely favorite holiday, as it celebrates food and being with the people you love. When I was growing up, we always hosted Thanksgiving at our house. Every year, our celebration grew and grew. My parents would invite their resident trainees from the hospital, many of whom had immigrated to America in search of better opportunities. We had our dearest family friends, a truly diverse and varied group. We often had about 40 people, from every background and religion. We always sat around the table together, and while we are not in the habit of saying grace before meals, we broke this rule on Thanksgiving. We offered a prayer to the diverse group of loved ones at our table, from the Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore, written in 1900. In these difficult times, when hate seems to have conquered love, when so much division looms in front of us, when there is so much uncertainty, his words ring more powerfully than ever before:

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

After our grace, we would eat. We filled our bellies with food made with so much love. After we were sated, we ate dessert. I was not much of a baker in those days, thus our pies often came from Baker’s Square. Luckily, over the years I’ve grown to love making pies, and I seem to be on a never ending quest to find the right pie crust. I thought I had found it, but then this recipe came along from the incredible Stella Parks of Bravetart. It is so unbelievably easy to handle, it almost feels like pizza dough. She is not exaggerating when she says that you can literally sling the pie crust into the pie dish. I was skeptical at first, but once I tried it, I was sold. This is not to say I won’t keep trying different recipes or keep looking, but this pie crust is pretty spectacular. It’s flaky and beautifully rich with butter. It also makes the best pie crust cookies ever. 

Chai Sweet Potato Pie with Vanilla-Cardamom Meringue

This pie crust uses equal amounts by weight of butter and flour. Some salt and sugar are added in for flavor. It comes together with just your hands, no pastry blade, stand mixer, etc needed. Then, what appears to be an unreasonably high amount of water is added in, and…you knead the dough. It’s pretty amazing. Then, roll it out, and it handles like a smooth pizza dough! It’s honestly a joy to work with. I blind baked the crust to firm it up a bit before adding the sweet potato filling, and made some pie crust cookies with the leftovers and they were astoundingly flaky and the perfect balance between shatteringly crisp and meltingly tender. 

Chai Sweet Potato Pie with Vanilla-Cardamom Meringue

The pie filling is a sweet potato pie, also based off of this recipe by Stella Parks. I decided to swap out her spices with my family’s chai masala, because I think those warm, spice notes are a perfect, and more complex substitute for the spices typically called for in dessert recipes. To start, you simply boil the diced sweet potatoes in milk, cream, sugar, with some whole spices until the whole mixture reduces. Then, puree with eggs and chai masala. Pour into the blind baked crust, and bake until it is mostly set. To echo the classic sweet potato casserole, I decided to top the pie with a meringue. I used a recipe from my favorite pie cookbook ever, The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie. It’s creamy, and thick, and utterly delicious. To complement the chai masala, I added cardamom, and to complement the flavors in the pie, I added in the vanilla beans from the pod that I had scraped prior to boiling the sweet potatoes. And, of course, what’s a meringue topping without a little torching? All in all, it’s a decadent, sweet end to my favorite meal of the year. The meringue, of course, is quite sweet. If you would like a less sweet dessert, the meringue is totally optional. Or, you can scrape it off and just eat the pie. I won’t tell. Happy Thanksgiving!

Chai Sweet Potato Pie with Vanilla-Cardamom Meringue

 

Chai Sweet Potato Pie with Vanilla-Cardamom Meringue

From at

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

  1. For the pie crust:
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Transfer onto a cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
  5. 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.
  6. For the pie filling:
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. For the vanilla-cardamom meringue:
  10. 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.
  11. 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!
  12. 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.

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13 Comments

  • Reply Nishta Mehra February 9, 2017 at 12:39 pm

    I’m catching up on your posts and I love everything about this–the Tagore, the gorgeous pie. I, too, swear by Stella’s pie crust, and I made her chocolate meringue pie for Thanksgiving this year and it was incredible. I used a Tagore quote as one of my senior quotes in high school, and I’ve always loved him. Thanks for sharing this one!

    • Reply Tanvi | The Hathi Cooks February 9, 2017 at 1:04 pm

      Oooh, yum. Chocolate meringue sounds amazing. I’ll have to make it for Pi Day! Tagore will always carry such fond memories for me. When I was a wee one, we usually ate together evey night, but if one of my folks was working late, then the other would read me Tagore while I ate. It was very special. And even more so when I reread those poems as an adult. Which quote did you use as your senior quote?

  • Reply Lesli April 18, 2017 at 2:51 pm

    Tanvi –
    I am so impressed by and grateful for your blog; especially this post! I am learning the joys of Indian cooking, inspired by my love of pulses. I have found two markets near me from which to source the unique ingredients needed for my pantry. Let me say thank you for the warning (in a previous post) about the ‘aroma’ of Asefotida – I had to put the plastic jar into a glass jar to contain the smell!

    At any rate, Chai is a flavor favorite, and I expect this pie will be amazing. Not one to usually comment before testing a recipe, I just had to say thanks for this post, with food for the mind as well as the belly. Tagore wrote one of my favorite poems, which I referred to often as a (now retired) Palliative Care nurse. The families I worked with found it very comforting, and to this day I still have occasion to share it – ‘Into A Larger Existence’. Truly beautiful. And I hope you continue sharing your lovely cooking!

    • Reply Tanvi | The Hathi Cooks April 19, 2017 at 12:37 pm

      Hi Lesli! Thank you, again, for your kind words! I am happy that you have found a good store to source your spices from and an airtight container for the asafoetida; it is quite pungent! This pie is at the opposite pole, it is fragrant, decadent, sweet, creamy, and rich! I do hope you enjoy it. To make it a bit less over the top, feel free to eliminate the meringue–that really lets the flavor of the sweet potato and chai shine!

      Thank you for your thoughts about this post. Tagore is, indeed, an incredibly timeless poet. I had not read “Into a Larger Existence” but did at your suggestion and am so moved. It is quite timely as my family has faced many losses in the month of April. You have my utmost respect for your work as a palliative care nurse, a field that is so difficult but so important. As a fellow healthcare provider, I thank you for that work.

  • Reply Lesli April 22, 2017 at 11:08 am

    I look forward to trying it sans meringue, and will let you know how it turns out? Regarding your kind words, thank you. Palliative Care was the most rewarding work of my career, and I was blessed to have the opportunity. My condolences to you and yours for the losses you have experienced; may Tagore’s words bring you comfort “The Empty Chair” by Robert C. De Vries may also be of value. I bow to you….

  • Reply Charles April 26, 2019 at 11:08 am

    Hello, When you blend the sweet potatoes do you leave in of remove the vanilla bean?

  • Reply Stir Gently August 8, 2019 at 12:38 pm

    You have Flambeau’d, souffle ‘d, and creme bruelle ‘d my insatiable thirst for the love of pie recipes. You are a master! What a delight to stumble upon you today!

  • Reply Katherine C. November 25, 2019 at 11:31 pm

    What if I use chai masala from the market? Should I brew the chai masala or just add it in dry to the recipe?

    • Reply Tanvi | The Hathi Cooks November 26, 2019 at 9:06 am

      Is the chai you are buying complete with the leaves? if so, i wouldn’t use that and try to find just the spice blend. You will probably be able to find just the spice blend without tea leaves at your local indian grocery store. Hope that helps!

  • Reply Linda February 18, 2020 at 8:16 am

    Do you remove the whole nutmeg prior to blending? If you don’t have a whole nutmeg, can ground nutmeg be used and if yes, how much?

    • Reply Tanvi | The Hathi Cooks February 19, 2020 at 9:51 am

      Hi Linda, I smash up the whole nutmeg and then grind it up. You can use the same amount by weight of the nutmeg if it is pre-ground.

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