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Pen patat
Haitian spiced sweet potato pudding with banana, coconut milk, ginger and raisins, baked until firm and sliceable
Pen patat, sweet potato 'bread', is the Haitian pudding sold in squares by street vendors and baked at home for Sunday afternoons and holidays, from the hills above Pétion-Ville to Haitian bakeries abroad. Grated white sweet potato (patat) and ripe banana are baked with coconut milk, evaporated milk, fresh ginger and warm spices until set and caramel-brown on top. It is dense, moist and fudgy, a little like a spiced cake and a little like a custard, and it's eaten warm or cold with coffee. Chef's tip: grate the sweet potato finely on the small holes; coarse shreds stay stringy, fine ones melt into a smooth pudding.
- Total time
- 100 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Butter a 23 cm round or square tin and line the base with baking paper.
Step 2: Finely grate 2 lb white-fleshed sweet potato (batata or boniato) on the small holes of a box grater (or the fine grating disc of a food processor). Put it in a large bowl with 2 ripe bananas.
15 minStep 3: Add 1 ¾ cups coconut milk, 1 ½ cups evaporated milk, 6 ½ oz light brown sugar, 2 ⅛ oz butter, 2 tbsp fresh ginger, 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground nutmeg, 2 tsp vanilla extract and ½ tsp salt. Stir well; it will look like a loose, wet batter. Fold in 2 ⅞ oz raisins.
3 minStep 4: Pour into the tin and level the top. Bake for 70–80 minutes, until the top is deep golden-brown and caramelised at the edges and the centre barely wobbles when you shake the tin. A knife pushed into the middle should come out moist but not runny.
75 minStep 5: Cool in the tin for at least 1 hour; it firms up as it cools. A common mistake is cutting it hot: it collapses into a soft heap. For neat squares, chill it overnight.
60 minStep 6: Turn out or cut in the tin into squares. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold, with coffee.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pen patat take?
- About 100 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 75 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of white-fleshed sweet potato (batata or boniato)?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
- What can I use instead of ripe bananas?
- Mango, same weight (in smoothies and shakes).
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