The inspiration for this comes from a very popular dessert in Hawaii – Okinawan purple sweet potato and haupia pie. That’s it on the right. A double-layer of purple sweet potato filling and coconut milk pudding on top of a macadamia nut shortbread crust.
Unfortunately there are no okinawan potatoes in Italy, and vitelottes (purchased in France last month) seemed like a good idea. Vitelottes are smallish with thick dark skins and are a waxy potato type, but they do have that purple color that I was looking for. The result was okay but it lacked that unique sweet flavor that only okinawan purples possess.
Vitelotte Haupia Pie on a graham cookie crust
CRUST:2 oz. butter, melted
1 1/2 cup crushed graham cookies
1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped
VITELOTTE POTATO LAYER
1 1/2 cups vitelotte potatoes, boiled or baked and mashed
3 oz. butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 whole egg + 1 yolk, beaten
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt
HAUPIA LAYER
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz.)*
1/2 cup water
*In Hawaii I use Mendonca’s frozen coconut milk which is the best
CRUST: Combine the crushed graham cookies and nuts. Stir in the melted butter until evenly mixed and press into the bottom of a 9 or 10-inch pie dish (use 9-inch if you want thicker layers). Refrigerate until firm.
VITELOTTE LAYER: Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add whole egg and yolk, blending in well. Stir in the potatoes, evaporated milk, vanilla and salt. Use a handheld mixer or wire whisk to make sure everything is evenly combined. Pour this into the pie crust and bake 20-25 minutes or until the center of the pie is set (doesn’t jiggle). Remove from oven and cool completely.
HAUPIA LAYER: Prepare the haupia only when the pie has cooled down. Combine sugar and cornstarch in heavy saucepot. Add coconut milk and water; whisk until thoroughly blended. On low heat, cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened like pudding. Remove from heat, allow to cool for a few minutes, stirring constantly, then pour over the potato layer. Refrigerate until haupia is set.
mmmmmm, Okinawan haupia pie is the best! Chocolate haupia is a close second. Mahalo for sharing your life with us! Happy Holidays to you and your man! 🙂
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That purple pie is the one thing I miss most about the holidays. I would trade all our snow for a slice!
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Looks wonderful. [This is my second attempt to comment – finding it quite a chore having to log in here!]
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Thank you…and that makes the 2 of us (no thanks to the terrible internet service that is Telecom!).
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