Chef notes
Do you serve sweet potato or pumpkin pie at your Thanksgiving meal? For Jocelyn Delk Adams, the creator of Grandbaby Cakes, it’s not Thanksgiving without a really good sweet potato pie at the center of the dessert spread — so she created this next-level s’mores version to wow her loved ones.
After pre-baking a simple graham cracker crust, the pie filling easily comes together with ingredients like sweet potato purée, eggs, dark brown sugar and vanilla, plus our favorite fall spices including cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. It’s then mixed with heavy cream and milk to create a sturdy, creamy base. Once it’s all combined, the filling is poured into the prepared pie crust, baked until set and left to cool.
After cooling, this pie gets the full campfire treatment with a layer of decadent chocolate ganache and a pile of torched marshmallows. The resulting dish, which is truly a dream for dessert lovers, is packed full of fall flavors with an homage to everyone's favorite campfire treat. Wherever you fall on the sweet potato versus pumpkin pie spectrum, we promise you’ll love it.
Special Equipment Required: This pie makes a lot of filling so you'll need an extra-deep pie dish. Use one that’s at least two-inches deep.
Swap Option: Use a store-bought graham cracker crust in a pinch.
Ingredients
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (optional)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 (15-ounce) can sweet potato purée
- 2 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 1¼ cups dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 5 to 6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- large marshmallows, for garnish
Preparation
For the Graham Cracker Crust:
1.Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2.In a large bowl, whisk together graham cracker crumbs and sugar, if using. Add melted butter and mix together until crumbs are well coated.
3.Pour the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and press down into the plate and around the sides. Bake for 10 minutes to set. Remove from oven, then preheat the oven to 375 F while you work on the filling.
For the Filling:
1.In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand mixer and large mixing bowl, combine the sweet potato purée, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until combined. Add the cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Beat again until combined.
2.Add the heavy cream and milk. Whisk on medium-low speed until smooth and fully combined.
3.Pour the sweet potato filling into the pre-baked crust. To avoid any overflow, fill the crust three quarters of the way. Transfer the pie to the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
4.After 25 minutes, cover the edges of the pie dish with aluminum foil to keep the crust from burning. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until the pie is mostly set with a slight wobble in the middle.
5.Remove pie from the oven and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely before adding topping, at least 3 hours.
For the Ganache and Marshmallow Topping:
1.In a microwave-safe bowl, add chocolate chips and whipping cream.
2.Microwave on high for about 1 minute, stirring at 20-second intervals.
3.Whisk together until completely combined and smooth. Let cool for about 5 to 10 minutes before using.
4.Using a small spatula, spread chocolate ganache over the top of the set pie.
5.Top chocolate with marshmallows, then torch marshmallows until they are perfectly toasted. You can also broil the marshmallows in the oven, watching to ensure they just begin to brown but do not melt too much.
