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Okinawan sweet potato haupia pie with a slice cut out

Okinawan Sweet Potato Haupia Pie

Print Recipe
Sweet potato haupia pie is a Hawaiian fusion dessert with a macadamia nut cookie crust, purple sweet potato filling, and a coconut top layer.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Asian American, Hawaiian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Cooling Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 55 minutes
Servings 1 9" round pie

Equipment

  • 1 9" round pie tin

Ingredients

For Macadamia Nut Crust

  • 8 tbsp softened, unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts optional

For Sweet Potato Filling

  • 1 cup purple sweet potato puree 180g, from about 1-2 sweet potatoes
  • 6 tbsp sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream or half and half
  • 4 tbsp melted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

For Haupia

  • 1 12 oz can coconut milk
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup water

Instructions

Make the Crust

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • With an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar, and salt until fluffy.
  • Add egg and mix until homogenous. Then add flour and macadamia nuts and mix until just combined.
  • Press dough into a greased 9" pie tin, making sure the dough goes all the way up the sides of the tin.
  • Bake in the oven for 12 minutes while you prepare the sweet potato filling.

Purple Sweet Potato Filling

  • Cook your sweet potatoes to make a puree: you can do this in the microwave, in the oven, or by boiling - however you would normally cook a potato. I typically use the microwave: poke holes in your sweet potatoes with a fork, cover, and microwave for 6-7 minutes or until you can very easily pierce through the sweet potato. Peel the skin off the potatoes and mash the insides very well. You can do this a few days ahead of time and save the puree in the fridge.
  • Take one cup of sweet potato puree and mix with the sugar, egg, heavy cream, melted butter, and vanilla extract.
  • Spread the filling over the crust.
  • Bake until set - about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean. (Note that the butter may leak from your crust, causing the filling to look liquidy when it is actually cooked, so use a toothpick as your gauge.) Set your pie aside to cool while you cook the haupia.

For the Haupia

  • Mix sugar, cornstarch, and water in a separate bowl to make a slurry.
  • Pour can of coconut milk in a pot and heat on stovetop.
  • When the coconut milk is just starting to bubble, pour in your cornstarch slurry very slowly while continuously whisking the hot coconut milk in the pot. It's important to keep stirring to avoid lumps.
  • Cook the haupia, continuously whisking, until the mixture has thickened to a pudding like consistency but is still pourable; this should only take a couple minutes. Do not let the mixture come to a full boil.
  • Take the haupia off the heat. Then, very gently spread over the purple sweet potato filling.
  • Place the pie into the fridge to let the haupia layer set. I like to leave it uncovered in the fridge until the top has become dry to the touch, then I cover with plastic wrap.
  • When the pie has fully cooled and the haupia is set (at least two hours), you can cut it into squares to serve.

Notes

  • If you can't find Okinawan sweet potato or they're too expensive, you can use Molokai sweet potato, which is purple on the outside and inside. The Stokes sweet potatoes brand are an example of a Molokai sweet potato.
  • You can also make this recipe in a 8x8" square baking dish using half the crust recipe.