Sweet Potato Pie
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

History

Sweet potato pie has been a Lowcountry African-American kitchen staple since the 18th century, predating pumpkin pie in the South by decades. The dish has both Gullah-Geechee and broader Southern roots. Bertha's Kitchen and Hannibal's Kitchen run the canonical Charleston versions; FIG carries the elevated take.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 10Hands-on 30 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 250g plain flour
  • 150g unsalted butter, cold, cubed
  • 30g caster sugar
  • 1/4 tsp fine salt
  • 60ml ice water (approximate)
  • 1kg orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (about 3 medium)
  • 100g dark brown sugar
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 60g unsalted butter, melted
  • 200ml evaporated milk
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 tbsp bourbon
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt
  • Whipped cream lightly sweetened with bourbon, to serve

Method

  1. Make the crust: pulse the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the cold butter; pulse to coarse crumbs.
  2. Drizzle in the ice water tablespoon by tablespoon until the dough just clumps. Tip onto a surface, press into a disc, chill 1 hour.
  3. Heat the oven to 200C. Pierce the sweet potatoes and roast for 60 to 70 minutes until completely tender.
  4. Cool slightly, peel and mash through a fine sieve into a bowl. You want 600g of fine puree.
  5. Roll the pastry to 4mm thick and line a 24cm pie dish. Crimp the edge and chill 30 minutes.
  6. Reduce the oven to 180C. Line the crust with foil and pie weights and blind-bake for 18 minutes. Lift out the foil, bake 5 more minutes. Cool slightly.
  7. Whisk the sweet potato puree with both sugars, melted butter, evaporated milk, eggs, bourbon, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.
  8. Pour into the par-baked crust. Smooth the top.
  9. Bake at 175C for 45 to 55 minutes until the centre is just set with a slight wobble; cover the edges with foil if browning too fast.
  10. Cool completely (at least 2 hours) before slicing. Serve at room temperature with bourbon whipped cream.

Tip from the editors. Push the sweet potato through a sieve, do not mash; smoothness separates a great pie from a stringy one. Bourbon adds depth without dominating.

Where to eat sweet potato pie

Sweet Potato Pie in Charleston

Bertha's Kitchen ★ 4.7

$$ Fried chickenNorth Charleston

Bertha's Kitchen on Meeting Street Road in North Charleston runs Albertha Grant's soul food cafeteria from 1979. Fried chicken, okra soup, red rice.

OrderFried chicken, okra soup, red rice, lima beans with smoked turkey neck

Why locals goA North Charleston cafeteria steam table that has run since 1979 and won James Beard's America's Classics in 2017. Tourist guides barely list it.

TipLunch only Mon-Sat, cash and card. Arrive before 13:00 weekdays or the fried chicken is gone.

Directions

Hannibal's Kitchen ★ 4.5

$ Soul foodEastside

Hannibal's Kitchen has fed the Eastside of Charleston soul food since 1985. At 16 Blake St. Reservations advised. A neighbourhood favourite.

TryCrab rice, smothered pork chop, fried whiting, lima beans

TipCounter order, dining-room seat. Lunch beats dinner; the line peaks 12:30-13:30 weekdays.

Directions

Magnolias ★ 4.5

$$ $18-32BrunchUpscale Southern Sunday brunchDowntown

Magnolias on East Bay Street is the Charleston brunch institution since 1990. Sunday brunch only: banana pudding French toast, crab cake Benedict.

OrderBanana pudding French toast, crab cake Benedict, shrimp and sausage over grits with tasso gravy

TipBook on Resy 2 weeks ahead. The shrimp and grits is the canonical version; bottomless mimosas at the bar.

Directions Book

Husk ★ 4.9

$$$$ Tasting $80-140 a la carteModern SouthernDowntownChef Sean Brock (founding); current team

Husk in Charleston opened in 2010 under Sean Brock and rebuilt Southern fine dining on heritage grains and hyper-local produce. Located in Downtown.

OrderThe cast-iron cornbread, plus whatever the wood grill is running.

Book3 weeks ahead

TipBook on the website. Bar seats walk-in at 17:00 and serve the full menu.

Directions Book

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Sweet Potato Pie in Jackson

Bully's Restaurant ★ 4.7

$ Soul Food

Bully's is the best-value James Beard award-winning meal in the United States: oxtails, catfish, and six sides for under $14, in a modest dining room.

OrderOxtail plate with mixed greens, mac and cheese, and yams

TipArrive before 13:00 for the widest steam table selection; popular items sell out.

Directions

Campbell's Bakery ★ 4.4

$ Bakery

Campbell's Bakery has made the same iced tea cakes and petit fours since 1962 from recipes unchanged since opening, in a Fondren shop that Jackson residents.

Why locals goA 1962 Fondren institution beloved by locals for petit fours and iced tea cakes, almost entirely unknown outside Jackson despite being one of the state's oldest continuously oper

TipOrder a dozen petit fours to take away as a Jackson food souvenir; they ship nationwide.

Directions

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