GD's Sweet Potato Pie

1.BAKING THE SWEET POTATOES Preheat your oven to 425°F (°C). Prewash and dry sweet potatoes. Using a fork, place several punctures into the potatoes for ventilation. Place potatoes on a baking sheet and place in oven. Bake for 60-75 minutes or until soft to touch. Once done, allow to cool.

2.PAR-BAKING THE PIE CRUST Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Using a fork, poke a few holes in the crust for ventilation. Next, place a layer of parchment paper at the base of crust. Layer some dry black beans on top of the parchment paper. Beans will serve as a weight for the parchment paper. Place pie crust in oven and bake for 6 minutes. Remove and set aside.

3.MAKING THE PIE FILLING Remove outer skin from sweet potato and place the inner filling into a food processor. Mix in processor until smooth and free of lumps. Transfer filling into a medium size mixing bowl. Combine the sweet potatoes, melted butter, sugars, salt, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, flour, eggs, evaporated milk, heavy cream, and lemon juice. Mix until smooth and well combined.

4.Pour the sweet potato filling into the par-baked pie crust, smoothing the top with a spatula.

5.Place the pie on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the filling is set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

6.Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before serving. This will help the filling to set completely.

7.Serve the pie at room temperature or chilled, optionally with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.