Traditional Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding is better than any sweet potato pie you’ll ever have! This baked version still has the signature silky smooth “custard” top and is pure heaven in the middle.
Ya’ll, I have been WAITING to post this recipe for the longest time. I have been holding off because I thought I needed to add some sort of twist to the recipe before I could share with you all on the blog. But sometimes a recipe is just so good, there’s no need to mess with it! That perfectly describes this traditional Jamaican sweet potato pudding recipe.
What is sweet potato pudding? Think of it as a firmer, less sweet version of the American sweet potato pie… but waaaaaaay better. Sorry Patti! This recipe is affectionately described as “hell a top, hell a bottom, and hallelujah inna de miggle” because it is traditionally cooked in between two sources of heat, leaving a crust on the top and bottom, and a soft flan-like consistency in the middle. Traditional Jamaicans will say it’s near impossible to recreate the texture of a traditional sweet potato pudding by baking it, but after scouring the internet, I think I’ve found a way to recreate the signature custard top. The secret is to add liquid to the top of the pudding shortly before it is done baking. A simple, but effective trick!
The recipe…
This sweet potato pudding recipe requires a Jamaican sweet potato, which is very different from the American orange sweet potato. First of all, the Jamaican sweet potato has a reddish exterior and is white on the inside. It has more starch and is not as sweet as the American variety. The exact Jamaican sweet potato can be hard to find outside of Jamaica (bummer!) but there are some similar varieties available, like the one pictured below.
Other than the sweet potato, which is the star of the dish, the ingredients are very simple — you probably have them in your pantry right now! Also, after taking a look at the ingredients you may realize that this recipe is vegan!
This pudding comes together in minutes. All we have to do is sift together the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Make sure to whisk completely to prevent any lumps in the batter.
Bake at 360 degrees for an hour and a half in a traditional square pan (or be different like me an use a round pan for crusty edges!) then remove from the oven, add the reserve wet ingredients and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. The hardest part is waiting for the pudding to cool. Once you bite into it, it’s pure heaven!
Share this recipe…
If you make this recipe, be sure to let me know by rating it and leaving a comment below. I would love to hear from you. And don’t forget to tag #sweetandsorrel on Instagram!
Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Jamaican sweet potatoes
- 1 cup flour
- 3/4 cup corn meal, fine grain
- 2 13.5 oz cans full fat coconut milk
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp all spice
- 2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup raisins optional
- 3 tbsp white Jamaican rum optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9 in springform pan or 10 in square baking pan and set aside.
- OPTIONAL: Add raisins to a small bowl along with rum. Set aside. If you are not using raisins, skip this step.
- Peel and grate sweet potatoes. You can also use a blender "grate" the potatoes, just use some coconut milk when blending.
- In a small bowl, whisk together grated sweet potatoes, coconut milk, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, all spice, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, sift flour and cornmeal through a strainer. Slowly pour in wet sweet potato mixture, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the wet ingredients to pur over the pudding once it bakes. If desired, add raisins and rum mixture to the batter now. TIP: to prevent raisins from sinking to the bottom of the pudding, lightly coat them with flour before folding into batter.
- Pour batter into baking pan of choice and bake in middle rack for 1.5 hours. Remove pudding from oven, pour on the reserve liquid and return to oven for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the liquid on top sets into a "custard".
- Remove pudding from oven and cool for at least 1 hour. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tag @sweetandsorrel on Instagram and hashtag it #sweetandsorrel so we can see all the deliciousness!
7 Comments
which step do we add in the sweet potato?
Hi Lea, you add the grated sweet potatoes to the wet ingredients in step 4. I updated the recipe to make this clear, I hope that helps.
thank you! it came out delicious but not as pretty as yours lol!
I’m so glad! And pretty doesn’t mean anything As long as it’s delicious! If you post any photos, be sure to tag me so I can see how it turned out 😀
Hi Dani! I cannot find Jamaican sweet potatoes in my area. How should I alter the recipe?
Hi Annette,
No problem. You can substitute by using Japanese potatoes (they have a red/purple exterior and are white on the inside). They mimic the flavor of Jamaican sweet potatoes very well. I hope you are able to find them!