Author Notes
While trying to decide what to make for dessert twoThanksgivings ago, I first learned about Indian Pudding. I did a little research and found out that recipes for the baked custard known as Indian Pudding go back several hundred years, but despite the name, it is not a traditional native American dessert. It was made by the American colonists, though: it's a variation on British Hasty Pudding, but made with "local" American cornmeal (hence the name- cornmeal was once known as Indian meal). My version, which incorporates baked silky sweet potatoes, is fairly simple, but it's dense and delicious. It is best when cooked at a low temperature for a long time, almost 2 hours. It makes a great dessert for Thanksgiving, and it can be served with a little cream poured on top, or with a scoop of fresh whipped cream, crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream. It is also wonderful plain, and I love it cold for (a decidedly somewhat decadent) breakfast. —WinnieAb
Ingredients
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2
large sweet potatoes
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3 cups
milk
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1/2 cup
cornmeal
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2 tablespoons
butter
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1/4 cup
plus 2 heaping tablespoons brown sugar
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1/4 cup
molasses
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1 1/2 teaspoons
cinnamon
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1/2 teaspoon
ground ginger
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1/2 teaspoon
nutmeg
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1/2 teaspoon
salt
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3
eggs, at room temperature
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1/2 cup
heavy cream, half and half, creme fraiche or sour cream
Directions
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Pierce the sweet potatoes all over with a fork and wrap them in foil. Bake in a 400°F oven for 1.5 hours. Carefully remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before unwrapping and slicing in half. Reduce the oven temperature to 275°F.
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Scoop out the sweet potato flesh and place it in a blender with the milk. Blend until smooth.
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In a heavy pan, heat the sweet potato and milk mixture over medium heat. Add the cornmeal, and, while you stir it with a whisk, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low-medium and continue to whisk as you cook for 5-10 minutes, until thickened. Remove from the heat.
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Add the butter, brown sugar, molasses, spices, and salt. Whisk to blend all the ingredients. Let the mixture cool slightly.
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In a separate small bowl, beat the eggs. Add about 1/2 cup of the warm cornmeal mixture to the eggs and beat again. Add the tempered eggs to the larger pot of the batter and whisk together to combine.
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Add the 1/2 cup of cream, half and half, sour cream or creme fraiche and whisk again.
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Pour the batter into a buttered baking dish and bake at 275°F for 2 hours. Serve warm, alone or with cream or whipped cream, crème fraîche, or ice cream.
I grew up in a restaurant family (my parents owned the now closed Quilted Giraffe in NYC) and I've always loved to cook.
My interest in the connection between food and health led me to pursue a graduate degree in naturopathic medicine. I don't practice medicine anymore; I have a blog called Healthy Green Kitchen that I started in May of 2009 and I wrote a book called One Simple Change that will be published in January, 2014.
I live in upstate New York with my family and many pets.
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