Sweet Potato Pie with Candied Walnuts

1. First roast the sweet potatoes. Preheat the oven to 200°C convection or bottom heat. Wash, dry, and halve the sweet potatoes. Do not peel. Place them on a baking tray and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes until soft. Leave to cool.

2. Make the walnut pie dough. Finely chop the walnuts or pulse them in a food processor until finely ground. Cut the butter into small pieces and chill in the fridge, along with the cream cheese and the water. In a large bowl, combine the walnuts, flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and cream cheese. Using a hand mixer, kitchen machine, or your fingertips, break up the butter and cream cheese and work into small bits. Add the cold water and barely mix to combine.

3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, divide in half and quickly shape each half into a disc. The secret to a flaky pastry crust is not just using cold butter and water, but also not handling the dough too much. Wrap the halves in baking paper. Chill one in the fridge for about 1–2 hours before rolling out. Freeze the other disc for another occasion.

4. When the dough is thoroughly chilled, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Evenly roll out the dough to about 3mm thickness, then place it in the pie dish. Press down the bottom and the sides. Cut down the edge to 1 cm and crimp with your fingers. Chill in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

5. Make the sweet potato filling. Once the roasted sweet potatoes have cooled, scoop out the flesh. Using a hand blender, food processor, or simply a fork, mash the sweet potatoes to a fine purée. Set aside.

6. Preheat the oven to 200°C convection or bottom heat. Using a kitchen machine or hand mixer, cream the butter with the sugars, vanilla extract, and spices. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue to beat on a low speed while adding the maple syrup, ginger, and sweet potato purée, followed by the cream.

7. Pour the filling into the prepared pie dish, place the pie on a baking tray on the lower rack in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 180°C. Bake for 50 minutes until golden and the filling has almost set. Leave to cool before serving. Garnish with the candied walnuts.

For the Candied Walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 180° convection heat.

2. Line 1 or 2 baking trays with baking paper. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, making sure not to break up the walnuts.

3. Spread the walnuts evenly on the baking trays. Bake for 10 minutes. Leave to cool and store in an airtight jar.