Sweet Potato Tea Cake With Meringue Recipes

SWEET POTATO TEA CAKE WITH MERINGUE

Steps:

• Prepare the cake: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil sweet potatoes until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes, then drain.
• Meanwhile, make the meringue: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip egg white, sugar and vanilla until glossy, stiff peaks form. Scrape meringue into a bowl and set aside; rinse off the whisk attachment and bowl and return to stand mixer.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees and butter a 9-by-5-inch (23-by-12-centimeter) loaf pan.
• Transfer sweet potatoes to stand mixer bowl. Add orange juice and whisk until smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl to make sure there are no lumps. Add oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt and mix until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition; use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• In a separate bowl, use a fork to mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Add to egg mixture in stand mixer and combine on low speed just until smooth. Transfer batter to the prepared loaf pan.
• Use a spoon to top the batter with the meringue, gently swirling it into the batter and pulling it back out a few times to create streaked peaks. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

GRANDADDY'S SWEET POTATO MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Place the sweet potatoes into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and allow to steam dry for a minute or two. Transfer the sweet potatoes into a mixing bowl, and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9-inch pie dish with unbaked pie crust.
• Mash the sweet potatoes smoothly, and mix in butter, 3/4 cup of sugar, salt, milk, egg yolks, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Pour the filling into the pie crust.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the filling is set and the pie crust is beginning to brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Place the egg whites into a clean mixing bowl, and beat until stiff with an electric mixer set on medium, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, until the mixture holds firm peaks and is glossy. Remove the pie from the oven and spoon meringue over the sweet potato filling, swirling the meringue into attractive peaks. Return to oven, and bake until the meringue turns golden brown, about 10 minutes, watching carefully to avoid burning. Allow to cool before serving.

DOWN SOUTH SWEET TEA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 10-in. fluted tube pan. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, 3/4 cup tea, eggs, oil, vanilla and lemon extract; beat on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium 2 minutes. Stir in pecans. Transfer to prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes., Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. In a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar, butter and enough remaining tea to reach desired consistency. Pour glaze over top of cake, allowing some to flow over sides.

SWEET-POTATO MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Sweet-Potato Pie: Preheat oven to 425°F. Pierce sweet potatoes in a few places with a fork, and bake until very soft, about 1 hour 15 minutes, depending on size of potatoes.
• Meanwhile, roll out dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate, and trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• When sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out enough flesh to measure 2 cups (reserve any remaining flesh for another use), and transfer to a food processor. Add eggs, milk, cream, sugars, salt, nutmeg, and vanilla, and process until smooth.
• Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Pour filling into crust. Bake until filling puffs and cracks around edge and pie is just set, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 1/2 hours. Pie can be kept at room temperature for 1 day, covered loosely with parchment or foil.
• Meringue: Beat egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in a bowl with a mixer on low speed until foamy. Raise speed to high, and add granulated sugar in a slow, steady stream. Whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes. Spoon meringue on top of pie. Lightly brown meringue in places with a small kitchen torch (or broil about 7 inches from heat source about 45 seconds).

SWEET-POTATO PUREE WITH TOASTED MERINGUE

Steps:

• Sweet potatoes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prick each potato in several places with the tines of a fork. Bake until very soft, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on size. Let stand until cool enough to handle.
• Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Halve potatoes, scoop out flesh, and transfer to a food processor; puree until smooth. Add butter, syrup, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, white pepper, and salt; pulse to combine. Transfer to prepared dish, cover, and bake until hot, about 10 minutes.
• Meringue: Meanwhile, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on low speed until frothy, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high; beat until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Gradually add sugar, beating until thick, glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes. Spoon meringue evenly over potatoes. Holding a small kitchen torch at a 90-degree angle, 3 inches from surface of meringue, move flame back and forth over meringue until it starts to brown. (Or broil 6 to 8 inches from heat source, about 1 minute.) Serve immediately.

SWEET POTATO MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out a disk of dough into a circle about ¼-inch thick. Starting at one end, gently roll up the dough onto the rolling pin. Unfurl the dough over a 9-inch pie plate, preferably ceramic, and press it in lightly, making sure it's lining the plate.
• Trim so that there's about ½ inch of excess dough hanging over the edge of the pie plate. (If the dough feels warm, refrigerate it for 15 minutes.) Tuck the excess dough under itself so it is flush with the edge of the pie plate; leave the pie like this for a straight-edge finish, or crimp as desired. Dock the base and sides all over with a fork and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, and up to 2 hours.
• Place a rack on the bottom shelf of the oven, and place a baking stone, if you have one, on the rack. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Use a small brush to evenly paint egg wash on the edge of the crust. Cut a square of parchment paper and use it to line the crust. Fill with pie weights (or dried beans) up to the top edge. Place the plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil.
• Transfer the baking sheet to the oven, placing it directly on the baking stone if using. Bake crust until the outer edge is just starting to turn golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and pie weights, and continue to bake until the base appears set, 2 to 4 minutes more. If the dough puffs up anywhere, you can puncture it with a fork. Cool the crust completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
• Make the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla and melted butter to combine.
• Add the sweet potatoes, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and mix to combine. Whisk in the heavy cream until evenly incorporated. (If you have an immersion blender and want to get the texture even smoother, you can blend it now too.) Transfer the pie plate to the prepared baking sheet and pour the custard into the crust.
• Transfer the baking sheet to the oven, placing it directly on the baking stone if using. Bake until the crust is evenly golden brown and the custard appears set around the outer edge, about 35 minutes; the center of the pie may still be noticeably jiggly. Let cool completely at room temperature on a rack.
• Make the meringue: Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and mix briefly just to combine. Stir the sugar and ⅓ cup/80 milliliters water together in a small pot. Place the pot over medium heat, and stir until it begins to simmer, then stop stirring. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush away any sugar crystals that have washed up on the sides of the pot.
• Continue to cook the sugar mixture until it reaches 235 degrees on a thermometer, about 4 to 5 minutes; when it does, start whipping the egg whites on medium speed. (The goal is to get them lightly whipped and foamy by the time the sugar reaches 240 degrees.)
• When the sugar reaches 240 degrees, remove the pot from the heat. With the mixer still running on medium speed, gently pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl in a slow, steady stream. Continue whipping until the meringue reaches medium peaks, 3 to 4 minutes more.
• Prepare two disposable piping bags by cutting openings large enough to accommodate pastry tips: an open star tip and a French star tip. Divide the meringue between the two bags.
• Starting with one of the bags, pipe shapes on top of the filling around the outside edge of the pie, varying the shapes in size and design. (Piping straight downward will form a basic star shape, or you can pipe in a spiral to create a sort-of rosette design.) The piped shapes should be random and can be layered on top of one another for the fullest look. Continue with both bags until the whole outer portion of the pie is covered, leaving a 3-inch circle of filling exposed in the center. (You'll most likely have extra meringue: See Note.) Alternatively, you can skip the piping, and scoop the meringue onto the pie, swirling it with the back of a spoon or offset spatula.
• Use a kitchen torch to toast the meringue, if desired. Serve within 2 hours. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, tented with foil.