Crispy and flaky, with a smooth, silky filling, Japanese Sweet Potato Pie is my all-time favorite Japanese pastry. Best enjoyed with a cup of coffee or black tea, this sweet potato pie is light, but rich, making it the perfect afternoon indulgence.
When I go back to Japan, I always enjoy going to bakeries with my mom. We love browsing through the tantalizing displays and picking up different kinds of fresh bread and pastry for our breakfast the next day. It’s hard to make a choice, but some of my all-time favorites include Melon Pan, Anpan, Yakisoba Pan, and Korokke Pan which I’ve shared the recipes with you. Today I’m sharing another favorite of mine – Japanese Sweet Potato Pie (スイートポテトパイ).
What’s Japanese Sweet Potato Pie?
Japanese Sweet Potato Pie has been a classic pastry in Japan. You can find them at corner mom-and-pop shops to trendy pastry shops. To make this classic pie, Japanese sweet potato is cooked until fork tender, mashed and combined with butter, heavy cream and whisk until silky smooth. Then the mixture is folded into layers of puff pastry sheets and baked until crispy gold. The flaky exterior crackles when you bite into it, giving way to the rich creamy interior of sweet potato filling. It is wonderful with tea or coffee.
Japanese Sweet Potato – Satsumaimo
Originating in South or Central America, Japanese sweet potato or satsumaimo (さつまいも) in Japanese were first introduced to Japan in Okinawa (the old Ryukyu Islands) in the early 17th century by the Chinese. Then, satsumaimo was introduced to the Kyushu island, which makes up the majority of satsumaimo production in Japan.
Satsumaimo have a purple-ish red skin and pale, cream color flesh. They are high in antioxidants and healthier than regular potato. Holding a special place in Japanese culture and history, the Japanese sweet potato is one of the beloved ingredients by pastry chefs in Japan. You can find sweet potatoes being used in many Japanese desserts, both western and Japanese-styles, from pies, cookies, cakes, soft-serve ice-creams, tarts, sweet bread, Daigakuimo to every pastry imaginable.
Puff Pastry Sheet – Convenient Freezer Essential
Making the perfect sweet potato pie at home is not an impossible feat, but it does take some time if you want to make the pie crust from scratch. A quick solution is to use a puff pastry sheet. You essentially thaw it, roll it out, fill it and bake it.
I often keep a box of frozen puff pastry in my freezer. It is something of an essential for easy appetizers or dessert-making. If you’ve ever baked with it, you know what I’m talking about. You can quickly pull off the most basic recipe and turn it into something flaky, buttery, elegant and crowd-pleasing snacks.
Perfectly flaky, these warm and golden Japanese Sweet Potato Pies are a lovely treat for an afternoon snack or for serving a crowd on a weekend brunch. The recipe that I share yields two pies, but if you want to make one pie (serves 2-4 people), just use half of the ingredients portion I listed below. Enjoy!
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Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients
- 1 lb Japanese sweet potato (Satsumaimo)
- 2 frozen puff pastry (I used Pepperidge Farm puffy pastry sheet and each box comes with 2 square sheets)
- 4 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large egg yolk (for filling)
- 2 Tbsp heavy (whipping) cream
- 1 large egg (50 g w/o shell) (for pie)
- 1 tsp toasted black sesame seeds
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Place 1 sheet of pastry on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Put another pastry sheet on a different sheet of parchment paper. Defrost for 10 minutes at room temperature.
- Cut the pastry sheets in half with a scissor. Now you have 4 rectangular sheets. Then make several slits on 2 sheets that will go on top of the pie.
- Peel the sweet potato and cut it in half lengthwise. Then cut into smaller chunks so they will cook faster.
- In a pot, put sweet potato and cover it with water. Bring it to a boil and cook until a skewer goes through the potatoes smoothly, about 12-15 minutes. Drain water completely and transfer to a large bowl.
- Use a potato masher or fork to mash the sweet potato. Add sugar and butter and keep mixing.
- Add egg yolk and heavy whipping cream and mix well.
- Now you put the sweet potato mixture on the bottom sheets. Keep about half inch space around the rim. Then cover with the top sheet.
- Use a fork to pinch the edges.
- Beat the egg in a small bowl and brush the top of the pastry so it will turn nice golden brown. Sprinkle black sesame seeds on top.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool a bit and ready to serve in 10 minutes.
To Store
- You can freeze the baked and cooled pies. Wrap them in aluminum foil and put them in a freezer bag. To serve, reheat the pie at 350ºF (180ºC) for 10-15 minutes, until crisp and flaky.
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on January 17, 2011. The post has been updated with new images and revised recipe.
Hi Nami thank you for this recipe; it looks easy enough for noobs like me 🙂 I want to make this to share w my vegan friends and was wondering is it okay to skip the yolk in the fillings?
Hi Joyce! Sure, you can skip the egg yolk in the filling and for the pie (egg wash). It won’t look as shiny on the outside but your vegan friends can enjoy! 🙂
First you need to not use puff sheets…butter. That is the trickier part, with some research you can probably find a recipe for vegan puff paste
Why doesn’t the sheets need to be dusted with flour and the bottom side doesn’t need to be pricked with a fork? What’s the reason?
Hi Shuni! I think pricking part is not necessary for this recipe because the filling is quite heavy that the pie sheet won’t puff up. My puff pastry sheets come with quite a bit of flour already attached, but if yours don’t, yes, it’s probably good idea to dust more. 🙂
Is there any difference in taste n texture for purple sweet potatoes where inside their meat is also purple?
Hi Tina! From what I remember (I can’t compared side by side)…. they are similar. Purple ones we can get are from Okinawa. 🙂
Hi Nami, thank you for sharing the recipe! I am wondering if I can replace the heavy cream/ heavy whipping cream with milk. Thank you!
Hi Sam! Yes you can replace it with milk. I am so sorry for my late response. I’ve been traveling in Japan and I couldn’t write you sooner. 🙁
Made this today, added some coconut milk to the filling and egg wash. Perfect. Found a finely chopped sesame seed and nori blend with a sconce of sugar for the garnish. Quite lovely, thank you.
Hi Josh! Hmm sounds delicious! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! Glad to hear you enjoyed it. 🙂
If you need a puff paste in a pinch google “blitz puff”, it achieves a similar result and is much easier then laminating your dough
Hi Nami. Do you think white yams can be used instead of sweet potato?
Hi Annie! I’m sorry but I had never had white yams before… so I don’t know if they can be sweet enough for “dessert”. If you end up giving it a try, let us know!
Hi Nami, do you know if this can be frozen after baked? Or what would be the best way to store it so it doesn’t go bad or stale? I want to bake the two pies at once but want to save one to have a few days later. What would be your suggestion? Thanks!
Hi Emily! This can be beautifully frozen! I usually pop back in the oven while frozen to reheat. Place the pie on the baking sheet or pizza stone lined with parchment paper and bottom doesn’t get soggy. Don’t defrost first. Enjoy!
Thanks for the response! So just to clarify, you freeze the completely baked pastry and directly pop back into the oven as frozen for another 20-25 min at 400F to reheat..is that correct?
400F is a bit too high. It’s alresdy cooked/baked and you just need to reheat. So I usually bake at 350F for 10-15 mins depending on the size. Touch (just a quick touch) and see if it looks flaky and crisp. 🙂
This is a keeper, thank you so much! And how well the black sesame goes with the sweetened potato! Following the recipe exactly, I got more filling than what I see in your picture. I like the look of that better, so I will cut back a little on filling next time.
Hi Laura! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it, and yes, black sesame seeds and Japanese sweet potatoes are a golden combination! 🙂
Hello! Thank you for this wonderful dish. I am thinking of bringing to a Thanksgiving potluck. I’d like to confirm if this travels well since I do see that after 10 minutes of cooling, it is ready to serve. Our ride from the venue will be about 20-25 minutes and I own those casserole carriers. Would it be safe, after cooling, to place them into the casserole carrier?
Hi Cheska! In an ideal situation, it’s nice to serve warm and if it’s kept flakey, it’s awesome. After all it’s puff pastry. Now, if you cover it, I’m a bit afraid of puff pastry becoming soggy. Maybe each one feels differently about the priority. To me, having a flakey pie crust is more important than a warm pie. If the pot luck can put in the oven to make it crisp and warm again, it’s great! Otherwise, it’s fine even being cold (and flakey). A lot of bakeries in Japan sell these at room temperature (but not soggy).
Hope I answered to your question… 🙂
Can you please make a recipe for JP sweet potato paste for baking? Like Anko paste. Thank you!
Hi September! What are you using it for? The filling I used for this pie is pretty much a sweet potato paste. 🙂
I would like to make Anpan, but sweet potato version! Thanks for replying! I love your recipes.
Thank you! Yes, this filling will work for the bread. Enjoy Sweet Potato Pan! 🙂
Thank you very much!
Thank you for this delicious and super easy recipe–I just tried it today for the first time, and am very excited about the final result.
For those in the Corona lockdown: this is a kind of recipe that one can realistically cook together with a toddler.
Hi Olesya! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m glad you enjoyed it. It’s one of my favorite pies. 🙂 It’s true, I learned to bake with puff pastry first, and it’s a very kid-friendly recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback, Olesya! xo
This was so unexpectedly delicious! I had a sweet potato lying around so thought I’d make this simple dessert and it turned out so well! Thank you so much for the recipe 😀
Hi Ping,
Yay! We are so glad to hear you enjoyed this Sweet Potato Pie!
Thank you for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback.☺️
Hello Nami,
I made the recipe but I was wondering what puff pastry exactly do you use? I used phylo dough but I’ve never worked with it before and each sheet was very very thin. I made one pie with top and bottom being 2 sheets each and the another pie, since the first came out too thin of a crust, 5 sheets each top and bottom but it still didnt come out right… I have another satsumaimo to made another attempt but want to do it right this time. Any suggestions?
Arigatou!
Hi Rosa,
The phyllo dough and puff pastry sheets are a bit different (this recipe used: https://www.pepperidgefarm.com/product/puff-pastry-sheets/). We think you can probably substitute but they won’t be the same. Unfortunately, we don’t have any experience with baking with the phyllo sheet and don’t have the best advice to use it for this recipe. Some suggest puff pastry and phyllo are not interchangeable; one is a sheaf of tissue paper while puff pastry is more like regular pastry dough.
Thank you for trying this recipe!
Thank you Nami for another great recipe! I made this on a whim after roasting some of the potatoes to eat just is, then thought about your recipe so I made your pie with no regrets! Husband loves it too and I am so thankful for your hard work sharing your recipes and very detailed instructions. Thank you a million times!
Hi Dianne!
We are so happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed this Japanese sweet potato.
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!😊
Satsumoimo isn’t available in my area. Can I use the sweet potatoes/yams found in the USA?
Hi Cyndie!
The Yam has more moisture than Satsumaimo and may skip or adjust the amount of heavy (whipping) cream.
Please make sure your sweet potato mixture is not too wet when you place it on the pastry sheet.
We hope this helps!