Sweet Potato Contest Cake and Pie Winners

Top winners in the pie and cake categories at the Vardaman Sweet Potato Festival included:

1st Place Pie
Sweet Potato Pie with a Salted Brown Butter Walnut Streusel
Mary Keyser, Calhoun City, Crust:8” or 9” unbaked pie crust
Pie Filling: 2 eggs
1 3/4 cup cooked, pureed sweet potato
1 cup brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup evaporated milk
Streusel Topping:
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions for Pie:
Preheat oven to 425°.  In a large bowl, beat eggs.  Mix in all remaining pie ingredients and mix until smooth and completely combined.  Pour into pie crust.  Bake for 15 minutes at 425°, then reduce the temperature to 350°, and bake for another 30 minutes.  Remove from oven, sprinkle with the streusel, (see streusel instructions) then return to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle of the pie comes out clean.  Allow to cool.
Instructions for Streusel:
In small pot, melt butter over medium heat.  Continue to cook butter, occasionally stirring and scraping the bottom of pan with a spoon, until butter bubbles and turns a light golden brown.  Butter should smell nutty and have small brown bits.  Transfer melted butter to bowl, making sure to include little brown bits.  Cool slightly.  Add brown sugar and stir until blended.  Add salt and flour, and mix well.  Stir in pecans.  Crumble the mixture over the pie before returning pie to the oven for the last 10 minutes (see instructions for pie).

2nd Place Pie
Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Pie
Barbara Williams,
Vardaman, MS
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
6 eggs, well beaten
3 sticks butter – melted
2 cups Karo
3 cups mini chocolate chips
2 1/4 cups pecans
1 1/2 cups coconut
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups sweet potato puree
4 unbaked deep dish pie crusts
Blend sugar, flour, eggs, butter, potato puree and vanilla.  Beat well.  Add chips, pecans and coconut.  Pour into pie crust and bake 35 – 40 minutes at 350° or until firm.

3rd Place Pie
Marbled Sweet Potato
Cheese Cake
C. J. Weddle, Vardaman, MS
Gingersnap Cookie Crust:
3/4 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
Carmel syrup (optional)
1) Preheat oven to 350°. Combine cookie and cracker crumbs and sugar into a small bowl. Stir in butter.
2) Press evenly on bottom of and 1/3 inch up side of 9 inch spring form pan.
3) Bake 8 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
Cheese Cake Batter:
4 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
6 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground all-spice
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted
1 cup sweet potatoes
1) Prepare crust then increase oven to 425°.
2) Beat cream cheese in large bowl with electric mixer at medium-high speed about 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.  Add sugar; beat until well blended.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beat well after each.  Add sour cream, sweet potato, flour, cinnamon, ginger, and  all spice; beat until well blended.
3) Pour 2 cups batter into small bowl; stir in melted chocolate until well blended.  Pour remaining batter into prepared crust.  Spoon chocolate batter into large swirls over sweet potato batter in crust; draw knife through mixture to marbleize.
4) Bake 15 minutes.  Reduce oven to 300°.  Bake 45 minutes.  Turn off oven; let cheese cake stand in oven with door slightly ajar 1 hour.  Cool to room temperature in pan on wire rack.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.
5) Remove side of pan; place on serving platter.

1st Place Cake
Sweet Potato Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Mary Keyser,
Calhoun City, MS
INGREDIENTS FOR CAKE:
1 box spice cake mix
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 large eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup sour cream
1 3/4 cup cooked, pureed sweet potato
Heat oven to 350°.  Grease and flour 3 9-inch round cake pans.  In large bowl, beat cake ingredients with mixer on low speed until moistened, then on high speed 2 minutes.  Divide batter equally among pans.  Bake 24-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks.  Cool completely.
INGREDIENTS FOR FROSTING:
2 packages (8 ounces each) softened cream cheese
1/4 cup softened butter
5 cups sifted, powdered sugar
In large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar, until smooth.
Place 1 cake layer on serving plate, and spread about 3/4 cup icing on cake layer.  Repeat with other layers, spread icing on top and sides of cake.

2nd Place Cake
Best Sweet Potato Cake
Wilma Johnson, Vardaman, Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated sweet potatoes
1 (8-oz) can crushed pineapple
1 (3 1/2-oz) can flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
Stir together first 4 ingredients.  Beat eggs and next 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended.  Fold in sweet potatoes and next 3 ingredients. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.  (Cover pan loosely with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning, and bake 13 more minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean.)
Poke holes in cake with toothpick. Drizzle Buttermilk Glaze (see recipe below) evenly over hot cake.  Cool completely in pan.  Spread Cream Cheese Frosting evenly over cake.
Buttermilk Glaze:
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Bring sugar, baking soda, butter, buttermilk and corn syrup to a boil in a pan over medium-high heat.  Stir mixture continuously for 4 minutes or until mixture is golden brown.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.  Makes 1-1/2 cups.
Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (3 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar
Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract.  Beat frosting at high speed for 10 seconds or until smooth.  Makes 4 cups.

3rd Place Cake
Sweet Potato Cake
Bonnie Williams, Vardaman, Cake
2 cups self rising flour
2 cups sugar
3 cups grated sweet potatoes
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 cup canola oil
4 eggs
1teaspoon vanilla
Mix dry ingredients. Add eggs, vanilla, and oil; blend well. Fold in grated sweet  potatoes. Bake in 3 (9 inch) cake pans at 325° for 30 minutes or until done.
Frosting:
1 cup chopped pecans
1 stick butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (1 pound) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cream the cheese and butter.  Add sugar, vanilla and pecans; blend well.  Add milk, if necessary, to spread.