Sweet potato haupia pie is the dessert that put Ted's Bakery on the map. A shortbread crust holds a thick layer of mashed Okinawan sweet potato — the deep purple kind, not the orange American sweet potato — and on top of that goes a layer of haupia, the cool, set coconut pudding you'll see on luau dessert tables across the islands. The contrast is the whole point: warm-toned, almost chestnut-flavored purple potato on the bottom; ice-cool, faintly sweet white haupia on top. For a lot of people, it's reason enough to pull off Kamehameha Highway on the drive past Sunset Beach.
Ted Nakamura started Ted's Bakery in Sunset Beach in 1987 and the pie became the bakery's calling card; the shop at 59-024 Kamehameha Highway has been a North Shore landmark ever since. This is a home version that gets you close. The Okinawan sweet potato (also called purple sweet potato or beni imo) is the key — Asian grocery stores carry it, and it is worth the search.
At a glance
8 generous slices
45 minutes
1 hour + 4 hours chilling
Moderate
Ingredients
For the shortbread crust
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the sweet potato layer
- 1.5 lb Okinawan (purple) sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk (from the haupia can — reserve the rest)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of kosher salt
For the haupia layer
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk (remainder of the can from the sweet potato layer)
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons cornstarch
- Pinch of kosher salt
Equipment
- 9-inch metal or glass pie pan
- Medium saucepan with a heavy bottom
- Whisk
- Potato masher or food processor
- Offset spatula
To serve
- Whipped cream (optional — the pie is rich enough without it)
- Toasted shredded coconut for garnish
Method
- Make the shortbread crust. Heat the oven to 350F. Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla until the mixture looks like wet sand. Press it into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan, packing it firmly with the flat bottom of a measuring cup. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until pale golden brown at the edges. Cool completely on a rack. The crust must be room temperature before the sweet potato layer goes on top.
- Cook the purple sweet potato. Boil the cubed Okinawan sweet potato in salted water for 18 to 22 minutes until a fork slides in without resistance. Drain well and let it sit in the colander 5 minutes to release steam. Mash by hand for a rustic texture or pulse in a food processor for a smoother layer. You want it lump-free but not gluey.
- Finish the sweet potato layer. Whisk the 1/2 cup coconut milk, sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt into the mashed sweet potato until uniform. The color should be a deep, vivid purple. Spread it into the cooled crust in a level layer, smoothing the top with an offset spatula.
- Bake the sweet potato layer. Return the pie to the 350F oven for 22 to 28 minutes until the top no longer looks wet and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the pie completely on a rack — at least 90 minutes. The layer must be cold before haupia hits it, or the haupia will not set in clean layers.
- Cook the haupia. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan off the heat, whisk together the remaining coconut milk, whole milk, sugar, cornstarch, and salt until the cornstarch dissolves with no lumps. Move the pan to medium heat and whisk constantly. It will look thin for about 4 minutes, then suddenly thicken to the texture of warm pudding within 30 seconds. Keep whisking for 1 more minute once it thickens to cook out the cornstarch.
- Pour and chill. Pour the hot haupia directly over the cold sweet potato layer and use the offset spatula to coax it into an even sheet. Tap the pie pan gently on the counter to release air bubbles. Cover loosely with plastic wrap pressed onto the haupia surface (so a skin does not form) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Serve cold. Slice with a sharp knife wiped clean between cuts. The layers should be a striking purple-and-white when you look at the cross section. Top with whipped cream and a pinch of toasted coconut if you like, though most people serve it plain.
Notes from a local cook
Okinawan, not ube. The purple sweet potato in this pie is the Okinawan sweet potato (often labeled beni imo), which has white-purple flesh that cooks to a true deep purple. Ube is a different tuber — a Filipino purple yam — with a more violet color, a sweeter flavor, and a chewier texture. They are not interchangeable here. If you can only find ube, you are baking a different dessert, and it will be sweeter than the Ted's-style original. I usually find Okinawan sweet potatoes at larger Asian markets; in season, Hawaii-grown ones show up at most island grocery stores.
Cornstarch is the only thickener. Real haupia does not use gelatin or eggs. The coconut milk plus cornstarch is the whole structure. The reason the bakery version sets up so cleanly is the ratio (5 tablespoons cornstarch to about 2 cups liquid) and patience — bring it to a full boil and then keep whisking through the first minute of bubbling so the cornstarch fully gelatinizes. Underchewed cornstarch turns into a chalky mouthfeel as the pie sits.
The sweet potato layer needs to be cold. The single most common mistake when making this at home is pouring hot haupia over a warm sweet potato layer. The haupia will soak in instead of setting cleanly on top, and you lose the layered look. Chill the baked pie completely, even into the fridge if you have time, before the haupia step.
A note on the Ted's version. Ted's also makes a chocolate haupia cream pie (chocolate pudding under haupia) and variations with whipped cream on top. The sweet potato haupia is the one that turned the bakery into a stop on a lot of North Shore itineraries. Worth the drive if you are heading up past Pipeline anyway.
While You're on the Islands
Eat it made by someone else. The pie that put this on the map is at Ted's Bakery, 59-024 Kamehameha Highway in the Sunset Beach stretch of Oahu's North Shore — slices and whole pies, plus a handful of other haupia variations. In town, the bakery counter at Foodland sells a sweet potato haupia pie I'm happy to grab when I'm not making the North Shore drive. See our guide to the best haupia pie in Hawaii for more across the islands.
Buy the ingredients fresh. Hawaii-grown Okinawan sweet potatoes show up in season at most island grocery stores and larger Asian markets — look for them labeled "beni imo," not the standard orange sweet potato.
Bring It Home
What to stock up on before you fly home: a few cans of full-fat coconut milk pack flat in a suitcase and matter more here than you'd think — the "lite" version sold at most mainland grocery stores has too much water for the haupia layer to set cleanly.
What you can substitute, what you can't: Okinawan sweet potato is the real ingredient and worth tracking down at a larger Asian market on the mainland — don't substitute ube. It's a different tuber (a Filipino purple yam), sweeter and chewier, and you'll end up baking a different dessert entirely.
Where to Eat It on Your Trip
Our picks for Sweet Potato Haupia Pie across the islands — tap a spot for hours, photos, and directions.
Photo: Ron BallardOʻahu
Ted's Bakery
Photo: Liliha Bakery WaikikiOʻahu
Liliha Bakery
Photo: Tami PriceBig Island
Tex Drive In
Photo: Nadege ChiardossoBig Island
Village Burger
Photo: Paul MartinKauaʻi
