Tra-la-la, it's The Fall Cookbook Cake Parade: a new cake from a new cookbook every single day. Are your costumes cake pans ready?
Today: Proof that potatoes really can do it all. You go, potatoes!
When you're making mashed potatoes as a sidekick to steak or turkey, it's practically forbidden to put the boiled cubes in the food processor: Overworking the starches results in a gluey mess.
But to make Batatada, that same sticky purée is mixed with warm coconut yogurt, evaporated milk, butter, and eggs, and turns into cake with a silky, glide-your-fork-through texture somewhere between that of a pudding and a flan. It comes from the island of Macau by way of The Adventures of Fat Rice.
The potato adds a subtle earthiness that comes through towards the end of the bite. If you're not a fan of endless smoothness, add some crushed salted potato chips. No, seriously: The authors of recommend it.
The Macanese have two types of Batatada: one with white potatoes and one with sweet potatoes. In both cases, Batatada is so moist from the potatoes that it is typically served unadorned, enjoyed as a dessert or a teatime snack. [...] Here is a very modernized interpretation of the white potato Batatada served to us at Dona Aida de Jesus’s Riquexó. The texture of Dona Aida’s Batatada was reminiscent of a dense cheesecake, so we ran with that and incorporated coconut yogurt for a little zing and seasonal fruit for garnish. We are probably going to authenticity hell for this, but we even added salted potato chips for crunch. Sorry, Aida... it’s delicious!
That being said, it is great enjoyed on its own with tea, as the Macanese do. Or treat this as a blank canvas for in-season fruits: we shot this book in the fall and used cape gooseberries, fresh figs, and pomegranate.
| 6 | tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, plus 1 tablespoon for the pan |
| 1 1/2 | pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into rough 2-inch pieces |
| 1 | cup plain coconut yogurt |
| 1 | cup evaporated milk |
| 2 | cups sugar |
| 1/2 | cup potato starch |
| 2 | teaspoons vanilla extract |
| Finely grated zest of 1⁄2 lemon | |
| 9 egg yolks plus 2 whole eggs | |
| Fruit garnishes of your choice |
| 6 | tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, plus 1 tablespoon for the pan |
| 1 1/2 | pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into rough 2-inch pieces |
| 1 | cup plain coconut yogurt |
| 1 | cup evaporated milk |
| 2 | cups sugar |
| 1/2 | cup potato starch |
| 2 | teaspoons vanilla extract |
| Finely grated zest of 1⁄2 lemon | |
| 9 egg yolks plus 2 whole eggs | |
| Fruit garnishes of your choice |
For more Macanese stories and recipes, check out The Adventures of Fat Rice by Abraham Conlon, Adrienne Lo, and Hugh Amano, copyright © 2016. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House LLC.
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