Sweet Potato and Haupia Pie

Notes:

→ Okinawan sweet potatoes are a deep purple color when cooked and fairly dense. There is no adequate substitute. The dark potato layer stands in distinctive contrast to the creamy white of the haupia on top. (This pie is as almost as much fun to look at as it is to eat! Almost. By the time I realized I might want a photo it was already too late; the carnage was over and the pie gone. Update: Rowena graciously allowed me to use her photo from when she made this recipe. Thanks, Rowena!)

→ Between the cooking and chilling, it takes several hours to make the recipe, and then a couple more to cool the pie at the end. Allow yourself plenty of time, otherwise you'll find yourself like me, trying to accelerate the cooling phases in the freezer.

Crust

• 3/4 c. cold, unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• 2 T sugar
• 1 3/4 c. flour
• 1 c macadamia nuts, well chopped

The very first thing you need to do isn't a "crust" step, but you'll be glad you got it out of the way. Peel your sweet potatoes (from the Sweet Potato Layer section just below). Okinawan sweet potatoes come in wildly different sizes, so I can't easily tell you how many potatoes you'll need to make 2 cups. Just use your best judgement, and if anything, make a little extra. Boil the potatoes until a fork slides easily into them. Drain and mash them, then set them aside to cool while you make the crust. Isn't that purple color amazing? How thoroughly you mash them depends on the final texture you want. I don't mind little chunks in my pie, but other people prefer a creamy texture.

Oh yeah, now would be a good time to preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Now we can get started on our crust. Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl. Add the chopped nuts and the butter. Cut the mixture with two butter knives, pulling them across each other in a scissors motion, until the crust mixture is crumbly and no large butter chunks remain. Press the crust mix into the bottom of a pie pan, continuing it up the sides of the pan. You don't need to create a substantial or fancy lip to the crust. Place the crust in the refrigerator.

Sweet Potato Layer

• 1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened (1 stick)
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 c. Okinawan sweet potatoes, mashed
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 t. salt

Wash your medium size bowl that you used to mix the crust. Cream the butter and sugar together in it until smooth and... creamy. Add one egg at a time, mixing them each until completely incoporated. Add half the sweet potatoes, mixing thoroughly. Add the other half and mix again. Finally, mix in the evaporated milk, vanilla and salt.

Spread the sweet potato layer into the pie crust, making sure not to add too much. The potato layer should fill the pie no higher than 1/2 inch from the top edge of the crust, so that we still have room for the haupia layer. Bake the pie at 350 for 30 minutes, or until the edge of the crust is golden and the potato filling is lightly browning in spots.

Cool the pie completely in the refrigerator.

Haupia Layer

• 1 can coconut milk (usually 13.5 oz)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch

When the cooked pie has cooled, begin preparing the haupia layer. You do not want to prepare the haupia early or it may solidify into an unwieldy block of coconut goo.

Place the coconut milk and water in a saucepan, but don't turn on the heat just yet. Mix together the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl then add them to the liquids. Heat at medium, stirring constantly, until thickened. You can tell it's thick enough when you lift your spoon out, and the bits that glop off the spoon back into the saucepan basically hold their shape.

Immediately pour the haupia mixture over the pie and return to the refrigerator to chill for several more hours. Serve when cooled, making sure to step back so that you don't get trampled!

Credit where credit is due: there are many recipes out there for this pie, all very similar to each other but no two identical. I borrowed the idea of evaporated milk from the Honolulu Advertiser, and macadamia nuts in the crust from Reid. Thanks! Last but not least, congratulations on your new hale, `Anela and Ikaika!