Inspired by a recipe from the booklet “Angostura’s For Home Use,” this savory-sweet dessert marries the idea of a sweet potato pie with a traditional crumble. When baked, the spiced crumble layer takes on a crusty, caramelized quality, while the Angostura-doused sweet potatoes bake into a creamy pumpkin-pie texture. Topped with thick, cool, fluffy crème fraîche, which is then swirled with Angostura, the finished dessert is cozy and familiar, but with a dash of invention.
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a baking sheet with foil, and with a sharp paring knife, poke several slits into each potato. Place them on the baking sheet and roast until easily pierced with a fork.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the crumble, except for the butter, and whisk until integrated. Add the butter and toss until coated. Then, with a pastry cutter, a fork, or your hands, break up the butter with the rest of the crumble into pea-size bits.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper so that the ends come up over the sides. (This will help with unmolding the crumble from the dish after baking.) Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the parchment paper and set aside in the freezer.
- Once cool enough to handle but still warm, slice the sweet potatoes down the middle, scrape contents into a large mixing bowl, and mash until relatively smooth. Add the rest of the filling ingredients and mix together until smooth. Taste, and season with more Angostura if desired.
- Spread sweet potatoes evenly over the crumble, and place in the oven for 40 minutes, or until just beginning to turn golden brown at the edges.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add heavy cream and whip until medium-stiff peaks form. Add crème fraîche, vanilla, and powdered sugar, and whip until stiff peaks form.
- To serve, remove crumble from the pan by lifting the parchment paper at its ends. Slice individual squares and dollop with whipped crème fraîche. Garnish each dollop of topping with several dashes of Angostura, and drag the tip of a small offset spatula or a knife through the topping to create a marbled effect.
Leslie Pariseau
Leslie Pariseau is a writer and editor in New Orleans. She's written for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, GQ, The Intercept, The Ringer, Oxford American, Jacobin, and Condé Nast Traveler among others. Leslie co-founded PUNCH, and is a former editor for both TASTE and Saveur and co-author of SPRITZ. With her partner Tony Biancosino, Leslie co-founded Animals & Co., a creative production studio, where she develops and produces television, documentaries, and podcasts. Together, they also own Patron Saint and St. Pizza, a wine shop and pizza shop in the Lower Garden District.