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Sweet-Potato-Custard Pie in Orange Crust

This recipe came to The Times in 1995 in a column about the novelist and farmer Dori Sanders, who cooked it for Thanksgiving on her farm in Flibert, S.C.. It is, some say, quite the best thing to do with a sweet potato. “People tell their life stories through food,” Ms. Sanders said. “They talk about how they did it then, how they do it now. The way they talk tells you who they are.”

Ingredients

The crust:

  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus flour for sprinkling the surface
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • ½ cup chilled vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
  • ½ teaspoon grated orange rind
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons chilled orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Pinch of ground nutmeg

The filling:

  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 cups cooked, mashed and sieved sweet potatoes (about 2 large or 3 small sweet potatoes)
  • ⅓ cup whole milk
  • ⅓ cup light cream
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ⅛ teaspoon lemon extract
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Large pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)
  • Nutritional Information
    • Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

      573 calories; 31 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 65 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 38 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 149 milligrams cholesterol; 461 milligrams sodium

      • Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.

One 10-inch pie

Preparation

  1. To make the crust, sift the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter, shortening and orange rind with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture is crumbly.
  2. In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons of orange juice with the sugar and nutmeg. Using a fork, stir the orange-juice mixture into the flour mixture to form a soft dough, adding additional orange juice if necessary. Do not overmix. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
  3. On a floured surface, roll out the chilled dough to fit a 10-inch pie plate. Press the crust firmly into the plate and trim and crimp, or flute, the edges. Set aside.
  4. For the filling, beat the eggs, sugar and sweet potatoes together in a medium bowl. Add the milk and light cream and stir until combined. Add the melted butter, orange juice, vanilla extract, lemon extract, salt and nutmeg, if using, and mix well.
  5. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake until a knife inserted into the middle of the custard comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes.

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