This is a weird enough variant off my strange pies (
Oh my! Weird Pies! ) that I figured it needed it's own category.
Recently I made a pan that had on bottom carrot cake, then a filling layer of caramelized onions, then on top sweet potato pie, with a topping. OH MY!! That was by FAR the best cake I have ever made! My brother (who eats mostly normally) came to visit a few days away from his birthday and I made one for him (tweaked for his allergies) and he LOVED it. My neighbor (who eats VERY "normally" if you count Dairy Queen as normal) LOVED it and cleaned her plate of every crumb.
To make it all come together right, I had to actually start it backwards, when you need the next layer added, it HAS to be ready to go!
I use very little sweetener in my desserts, I'm not a fan of sweetness, I like flavor, so sweeten to taste, but my whole pan full (a bit bigger and deeper than a 9x9 pan) I used a total of about 1/3 cup of sugars, white and brown. I don't think it needs much. -
For the filling and topping, I used my canned onions: I can up caramelized onions in the fall when onions are cheap, they are diced and put in the crockpot with butter and a bit of salt, then cooked for a day or two, then pressured canned into jars. If you are making this without jars of onions to garb, dice up an onion, cook it in a pan with butter and a bit of salt on medium low heat until they brown up. To the onions add chopped pecans and a bit of brown sugar. Let it all simmer.
I started steaming sweet potatoes (if you cut them in chunks then steam, the skins come right off) I let them cool enough to slip the skins off. They were mashed with spices and milk (I used coconut milk, I can't do dairy) and eggs, basic sweet potato pie recipe.
Carrot cake was sort of off a recipe, I increased the carrots a lot (I like
carrot cake, not carrot
cake) added more spices including lots of ginger.
I greased the pan, set the oven to 375, and started the cake cooking. I checked it, when it was solid enough to hold the filling, I put about 2/3 of my onion and pecan mix carefully on top. Back in the oven. Gave it about 10 minutes, then carefully put the pie filling on top. baked till it was almost set, then put the last of the onion pecan mix on top, baked till it was all done.
Oh. My. What a LOVELY combination!! Plus look at all the veggies hidden in it! :D
My brother is reactive to pecans, so his just had onions and brown sugar.
This would work well with pumpkin pie too. If you are looking at this thinking 'I don't have all that stuff!" try a carrot cake recipe, a layer of cooked onions with brown sugar, and basic pumpkin pie recipe made with canned pumpkin. I haven't made that, but it might be quite good.
Now I'm thinking of what else I can layer up. I like pie better than frosting!
I have always loved cheesecake layered with sweet potato pie (bonus points if you use purple sweet potatoes!) but what else can we layer up to good effect?
Hmm...!!
It's an interesting concept!!
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