Ladybird Diner chef’s sweet potato praline pie says ‘love’

This pie lends itself to a two-day process, Meg Heriford says: “You could do it all in a day, but it will taste better if you’re not too weak to enjoy it. We recommend making the caramel sauce, pralines and crust a day ahead.”

Heriford finds the best pie crusts are made from half butter, half lard. Because many of her customers do not eat lard, she uses half butter and half vegetable shortening at Ladybird Diner. The compromise also keeps her pies affordable, but for home cooks making a traditional custard pie, she recommends an all-butter crust.

And, if you haven’t tried it, don’t skip the freshly grated nutmeg.

To make the caramel sauce: Brown the butter in lightly colored or aluminum-bottomed saucepan until it’s a lovely dark caramel color. Strain milk solids from the butter and set aside.

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until it turns dark amber in color (about 10-12 minutes). If you have a candy thermometer handy it should read 244-248 degrees. (“If you can’t find that candy thermometer, you will know when your sugar is perfectly caramelized by the smell. It is the smell of something not-quite-burned, and it will sting your eyes a bit when you stand with your face over the steam,” says Meg Heriford.)

Remove the sugar from the heat and very slowly add the cream. The caramel will bubble rapidly when you do this and might appear to seize for a moment, but it will loosen as you stir. Add the browned butter, vanilla and bourbon. Set caramel sauce aside to cool. Once cooled, store at room temperature in airtight container.

To make the pralines: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss all ingredients together until pecans are well coated. Arrange on parchment-lined baking sheet. (“Don’t skip the parchment, unless you have a teenager who needs a serious chore by which to punish them,” Heriford jokes.) Bake for 20 minutes, or until sugar is caramelized around the pecans. Let cool completely!

Once the pralines are cooled, break them apart in miscellaneously sized chunks for topping the pie. (“Now find a neighbor who hates pecans and ask them to please hide your pralines so you won’t eat them all before the pie is done!”)

To make the crust: In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. With a twisting motion, cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until pea-sized lumps form. Sprinkle with water, a tablespoon at a time, and work in with the tines of a fork. Gather the ball up into a ball and wrap in waxed paper. Place dough ball in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough in two parts. Flour a pastry cloth and your rolling pin. Working from the center, roll dough evenly into a circle 1  1/2 to 2-inches larger than the circle of an inverted pie plate. Use your rolling pin to fold dough circle and transfer dough gently to the pie plate. Trim edge so that a  1/2 -inch hangs over and flute edges. Place pie crust in the freezer for at least 30 minutes and preferably overnight. (Heriford says freezing will keep the pie from shrinking when baked.)

To par-bake the crust, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line the frozen crust with parchment paper and weight with dried rice or beans. Par-bake the crust for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and weights and bake 5 more minutes or until golden, pricking the crust with the tines of a fork if it puffs up. Remove crust from the oven.

While the oven is still preheated, prick sweet potatoes and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour at 425 degrees. Allow the sweet potatoes to cool completely before making filling or you risk cooking the eggs.

To make the filling: In a large mixing bowl, combine thoroughly cooled sweet potatoes that have been peeled and pureed and the remaining filling ingredients.

Pour mixture into par-baked pie crust. Tent with foil and bake for 30 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven. Remove foil tent and finish baking until custard is set, about 20 minutes longer. The custard should be set in the outer  2/3 of the pie, but the very center will still be a bit loose. It will set up as the pie cools.

To serve: Top pie with praline crumble and dollops of freshly whipped cream.