Originally from Jamaica, sweet potato pudding is a moist and rich dessert with flavorful spices and hints of coconut. However, it is traditionally made with Jamaican yams, which are not always easy to find in the United States. This recipe takes all the deliciousness of sweet potato pudding but uses American sweet potatoes instead.
To make this sweet potato pudding, combine the sweet potatoes, yams, and ginger. Add the spices, butter, and coconut milk, mix in the other dry ingredients, and bake. Top it all off with a spiced glaze.
With the flavor of the sweet potatoes and yams, along with the array of spices, this recipe will result in a dessert that feels like autumn. Read on to learn how to make sweet potato pudding, what you will need to make it, and more.
How To Make Sweet Potato Pudding
Grate or blend together the sweet potatoes, yams, and ginger. Boil a cup of water and add the spices to it. Add this spice mixture to the sweet potato mixture, along with the butter and coconut milk.
Combine all of the other dry ingredients together in a separate bowl before adding them to the sweet potato mixture. Pour the completed mixture into a pan and bake for an hour.
Once an hour has passed, top the sweet potato pudding with the topping and let it cook for another 15 minutes. Allow the sweet potato pudding to cool before slicing and serving.
Serving and Storing Sweet Potato Pudding
Sweet potato pudding is typically sliced when it is served, similar to how cake is sliced. It can be served as breakfast with coffee or tea, or as a dessert after a meal. You could also just eat a slice of it as an afternoon snack.
You could store the sweet potato pudding at room temperature, but it should be kept in an airtight container to prevent it from going stale quickly. You could also store it in the fridge, and you can even freeze it for up to 1 month. Just be sure to defrost it if it is frozen before eating it.
Ingredients
This recipe has two different sets of ingredients: one for the pudding and one for the topping. Here is the list of the ingredients for the pudding itself:
- American sweet potatoes: This is what makes up the bulk of the pudding. This will be blended or grated, depending on your preferred texture, and mixed with the other ingredients.
- Yams: These will be blended with the sweet potatoes.
- Ginger: This fragrant root will add flavor to the sweet potato and yam mixture.
- Coconut milk: This recipe is meant for full fat coconut milk, which will help smooth out the pudding.
- Unsalted butter: Due to the sweeter nature of the recipe, it is better to use unsalted butter.
- Cornmeal and flour: These will provide a little thickness to the pudding.
- Allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, salt, and unsweetened desiccated coconut: All of these will help season the pudding and give it a little bit of spice that contrasts well with the sweet potatoes and yams.
Sweet Potato Pudding Recipe
Sweet Potato Pudding Recipe
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy12
servings30
minutes1
hour15
minutes379
kcalTry out this Jamaican classic dessert with an American twist. Perfect with coffee or tea or as a autumnal dessert after dinner.
Ingredients
- Pudding
½ cup of unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 1 ½ pounds of sweet potato
½ pound of yams
3 tablespoons 3 freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon 1 ground allspice
1 teaspoon 1 ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon 1 ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons 2 vanilla extract
2 cups 2 coconut milk
¼ cup of melted unsalted butter
¼ cup of cornmeal
⅓ cup of all purpose flour
1 1 ½ cup of sugar
2 teaspoons 2 salt
- Topping
1 teaspoon 1 ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
½ tablespoon of vanilla extract
2 tablespoons 2 sugar
½ cup of coconut milk
Directions
- Making the Pudding
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Grease a 10 inch pan.
- Soak the coconut in hot water for 15 to 20 minutes, then squeeze out all of the water.
- Peel the yams, sweet potatoes, and ginger. Use a grater or blender to grate and combine the yams, sweet potatoes, and ginger until it reaches your preferred texture.
- Add a cult of water to a small pot and bring it to a boil on medium high heat. Add the allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla. Let the spice mixture boil for 2 minutes, then add it to the sweet potato mixture.
- Add the coconut milk and melted butter, then mix until everything is fully combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the coconut, cornmeal, flour, sugar, and salt. Add the wet mixture and combine them together.
- Pour the completed mixture into a pan and bake for one hour. Remove the pudding from the oven after one hour, add the topping, and allow it to cook for 15 more minutes.
- Let it cool for 30 minutes. Remove the pudding and allow it to cool at room temperature before serving.
- Making the Topping
- Combine all of the ingredients for the topping, then bring them to a boil in a small saucepan. Continue to boil on medium high heat until it is reduced by half.
- Remove from the heat and let it cool. Add it to the top of the pudding after the pudding has cooked for 1 hour.
Notes
- Grating the sweet potatoes, yams, and ginger can be laborious. If you want to use a faster method, you can cut the sweet potatoes, yams, and ginger into small pieces and blend them together using a food processor or a blender. Add a touch of coconut milk to help blend it together smoothly.
- Traditionally, the Jamaican recipe for sweet potato pudding also includes raisins soaked in rum. You can add that to this recipe by soaking raisins in 3 tablespoons of rum overnight and draining them before adding them to the pudding.
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FAQs
Can I freeze sweet potato pudding?
If kept in an airtight container, sweet potato pudding can be frozen for up to 1 month. Be sure to allow it to thaw in the refrigerator before you want to eat it.
Do I use American or Jamaican sweet potatoes?
Although sweet potato pudding comes from Jamaican culture, this recipe is designed for American sweet potatoes, as those are easier to find in stores. American sweet potatoes are typically softer when cooked and have orange flesh, whereas Jamaican sweet potatoes are starchier and have white flesh.
Pair This With
See Also: Sweet Potato Casserole
Conclusion
Although this recipe varies from the Jamaican tradition, this is a great way to make sweet potato pudding using the American sweet potatoes that are regularly available in the United States.
Feel free to experiment with grating and blending the sweet potatoes, yams, and ginger to achieve different kinds of textures, or try adjusting the spice mixture to your preference next time you are craving a delicious fall treat.
