Sweet Potato Popcorn Pie

A silky, creamy and glorious pie that's part baked cheesecake, part custard flan. But oh-so-much more exciting with a filling made from sweet potatoes and apples that's creamy and flavorful. This sweet potato popcorn pie is delicately sweet, with flavors of apple, pecan, pretzel, and a crunch of popcorn.

Sweet Potato Popcorn Pie [Vegan, Gluten-Free]

Ingredients

For the Base:

• 1 cup pecans
• 1.7 ounces pretzels
• 2 dates, pitted
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• A good pinch of salt, only if pretzels are unsalted

For the Pie Filling:

• 14 ounces sweet potatoes (approximately 2 small potatoes)
• 3 eating apples
• 1/3 cup, plus 2 tablespoons cashews (see notes)
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

For the Popcorn:

• Scant 1/8 cup un-popped corn, for popping

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Begin by preparing the sweet potatoes and apples. Put a medium saucepan of water to boil. Core and chop two of the apples into small chunks and put them in the saucepan. Put a colander above this. Peel the potatoes and cut into small chunks and put these into the colander and cover with a small pan lid. Cook for 10 minutes, until soft.
3. Chop and core the remaining apple and combine in a bowl with the lemon juice and cinnamon.
4. While these are cooking, make the base. Put all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until you have a crumb — you don't want a powder. You could do this by hand with a rolling pin if not using a food processor.
5. Line the bottom of a 7-inch springform tin with parchment paper, and lightly oil the sides with coconut oil.
6. Pour the base crumb into the tin and press down evenly with your hands or the back of a spoon.
7. You can now drain the sweet potato and apple and place these in the food processor (if not using one, a hand-held blender should work). Add to these the cashews, maple syrup, vanilla essence, and arrowroot powder. Pulse on high power until you have a smooth, creamy consistency.
8. Stir half of the cinnamon apple pieces in by hand, and pour the filling mixture into the tin. Level out with the back of a spoon and sprinkle on the remaining apple pieces.
9. Cook in the center of the oven for 50-60 minutes.
10. Once cooked, leave to cool in the tin before putting in the refrigerator to set completely. You can serve sooner, but it won't be as solid.
11. Serve with freshly popped corn.
12. This pie will keep in the refrigerator, covered, for a week.

Notes

Soak cashews overnight in water if not using a high-powered food processor.

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/sweet-potato-popcorn-pie/