I used to live in an area where pumpkin was available pretty much year round…but out here in California you can only find it around the month of October! You can always get it canned, but that just doesn’t cut it for me. I like my pumpkin FRESH! So I came up with this great solution involving a cousin of the pumpkin – the yam! Yams are usually pretty cheap around here and they’re available year-round. I usually tell people it’s pumpkin anyway but they really can’t tell the difference. All I did was combine my mom’s classic pumpkin pie recipe and gave it a little twist. Enjoy!
Imitation Pumpkin Pie (AKA Yam Pie)
Ingredients
2 eggs (beaten)
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon nutmeg
dash of allspice
1/4 teaspoon ginger
2 cups cooked yam
3 tablespoons honey
1 can evaporated milk
(optional) Whipped Cream
Oven Settings
450º
You will also need
a mixer
2 large pie pans (gram cracker crust is always a good choice)
Directions
Preparing the yams
Yams take a while to soften up. For this recipe usually 2 big yams (or 1 HUGE yam) to make 2 cups worth then freeze the rest to use later. You will first need to peel and cut them up into 3rds (or 4ths depending on how big they are). Then boil for 30 minutes until SOFT – soft enough that you can easily stick them with a fork and they break apart. Drain off all the water and mash ‘em up a little.
Making the Pie
1. Combine eggs, sugar, brown sugar, and flour. Mix well.
2. Add cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger.
3. Add cooked yam slowly. Mix well…then add evaporated milk. Be careful not to splash the batter around too much and make a mess. Mix for another minute.
4. Bake at 450º for 10 minutes then 350º for 40-50 minutes
I was craving some doughnuts last night. I’ve lived here in California for over a year now and I haven’t seen a single Dunkin’ Donuts. That’s probably for the better.
