Authentic Southern Sweet Potato Pie vs Cannelés de Bordeaux: Caramelized Rum and Vanilla Pastries

Both desserts lean on milk, butter and eggs, but put them to very different work. In the sweet potato pie, they are whisked into mashed sweet potato with cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, forming a smooth filling that bakes until set inside a pie crust. The cannelés turn warm milk, a whole egg and extra yolks into a flour batter scented with dark rum and vanilla, chilled for up to a day, then baked in buttered molds until a deep mahogany, crisp crust forms. One is earthy and gently spiced; the other is caramelized and rum-scented.