YUMMY SWEET POTATO MERINGUE PIE

The sugar water must be hot and almost a thick syrup before you add it to the whipped egg whites. SERVES 6 Preparation: 20 min Baking: 90 min Chilling: 2½ hours PIE 3 large sweet potatoes 10 ml (2 t) oil 30 ml (2 T) ground cinnamon 10 ml (2 t) ground ginger 5 ml (1 t) ground cumin 5 ml (1 t) ground nutmeg 5 ml (1 t) salt 250 ml (1 c) brown sugar 5 ml (1 t) vanilla essence 4 eggs 1 can (385 g) condensed milk TOPPING 15 ml (1 T) golden syrup 500 ml (2 c) castor sugar 200 ml (¾ c) water 3 egg whites 125 ml (½ c) icing sugar,

sifted 125 ml (½ c) cornflour Preheat the oven to 180 °C. 1 Pie Put the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle the oil over and bake for 45 minutes or until soft. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. 2 Cut the potatoes in half and scoop the flesh into a food processor. Add the spices, salt, sugar and vanilla essence and purée until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the condensed milk and process until thick. 3 Reduce the oven temperature to 150 °C. Pour the sweet potato mixture into six ramekins and bake for 45 minutes or until set like a custard. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 30 minutes. 4 Topping Combine the syrup, sugar and water in a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking until slightly reduced and syrupy. 5 Meanwhile, using an electric beater, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the hot syrup. When all the liquid is incorporated, the egg whites should be shiny and fluffy. Continue whipping for 10 minutes until the mixture is cool. 6 Top the sweet potato mixture with the whipped egg whites, using a spatula to create peaks. Refrigerate the pudding for at least 2 hours to set the meringue and filling. Crisp the meringue with a kitchen blowtorch. 7 Put the icing sugar in a bowl, mix the cornflour through and dust over the crispy meringue.