I woke up the other morning with the idea of “carrot pie” on my mind. It sounded like something that could work out pretty well given the carrot’s prominence in some of our favorite sweet treats. My idea was to give the pie many of the same flavors you’d find in a well-adorned carrot cake: carrots, of course, but also coconut, pecans, and warm autumnal spices.
I got up and immediately made the pie I had in my head and it came out really tasty. But, I learned two things:
- The existence of carrot pie predated my idea — I googled it after I was done and was surprised to see a decent number of recipes online! I’m not sure of the full history of the dish but it strikes me as something that may have come about during the Great Depression. If you’re a carrot pie expert, please phone in (aka leave a comment)!
- Carrot pie ultimately tastes a lot like sweet potato pie which, and I know I’m going to get hate for this, I think tastes a lot like pumpkin pie. Very little actual carrot flavor came through but…in the end I had a very tasty pie and I’m not mad about that.
To make the carrot lattice, I just used a sharp vegetable peeler and sliced thin strips of carrot lengthwise. I wove those together into a lattice and transferred them onto the top of the unbaked pie and then sprinkled the top with a bit of sugar.
Consider carrot pie if you bought a huge bag of carrots and have 80% of it left, or if you don’t want to peel sweet potatoes, or if you don’t want to roast pumpkin. Plus, it’s kind of a fun party trick/conversation starter.
Pair this recipe with 1/2 of my best pie crust recipe.
Carrot Pie
Equipment
- 1 High speed blender Like Vitamix or similar
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust blind baked and cooled a bit
- 18 oz carrots washed and cut into 1/2" pieces
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 170 g granulated sugar divided
- 1/2 tsp Diamond brand kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp five spice
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 12 oz can evaporated milk
- 6 oz heavy cream straight from the fridge
- 3 eggs straight from the fridge
- toasted coconut optional
- toasted pecans optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Heat a heavy, medium-large skillet on medium high heat.
- Add 2 Tbsp butter once the pan is hot, then add the carrots all at once. Turn the heat down to medium and cook the carrots, stirring occasionally, until they've softened and start to brown — this can take up to 30 minutes.4 Tbsp butter, 18 oz carrots
- Add the remaining butter, about half of the sugar, salt, and the spices and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes until the carrots are very soft and the sugar starts to caramelize to a deep golden brown.170 g granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp Diamond brand kosher salt, 1/8 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp five spice, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- Pour the evaporated milk into the pan and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen up any stuck caramelized bits.12 oz can evaporated milk
- Transfer the mixture to a high speed blender and add the cold cream. Put the lid on the blender but remove the center part of the lid to allow steam to escape (otherwise you could have a blow up). Before you blend, fold up a clean tea towel several times until it's thick, and cover the hole in the lid with it, holding it down with your hand.6 oz heavy cream
- Start blending on low speed and gradually increase to high speed until the mixture is smooth.
- Crack all the eggs at once into a bowl so they're ready to go.3 eggs
- With the blender running on medium-low speed, add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla. Continue to blend for another minute or so at high speed to ensure the mixture is very smooth.1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pour the carrot mixture into prepared pie crust and bake for 30-40 minutes until the pie is set and just the very center is slightly jiggly. Remove the pie from the oven and let cool to room temperature before covering and refrigerating for at least 4 hours.
- Top with fresh whipped cream, toasted coconut, and toasted pecans, if desired.toasted coconut, toasted pecans