My grandmother used nutmeg quite a bit, whenever she made desserts with sweet potatoes. I’ve picked up this habit and it’s a wonderful habit to have acquired. Come to think of it, I have a feeling she might have even laced some of her potato dishes with nutmeg. So here I am, following in her footsteps in a cooler direction.
I’m hosting a dinner this weekend and needed a dessert, instead of opting for a cake, I’ve decided to go with a fall-themed ice cream and the idea of nutmeg and sweet potatoes was hard to resist. This is one easy ice cream without the need for adding thickeners since the sweet potato has enough starch to do the job. The best part is you get to inhale the scents of caramelization while that sweet potato cooks in the oven.
Just remember to cool that sweet potato before you go to handle it, it also makes peeling the skin of much easier, the skin separates from the pulp naturally. You will probably get a lot more puree than you need to use for this ice cream. I usually save the rest in an air tight container, refrigerate for later use.
You don’t have to do this, it is completely optional but I like to drizzle a little honey over the ice cream just before serving, since honey as you know, is one of my many true loves!
sweet potato ice cream
yields: 6-8 servings
ingredients
1 large sweet potato
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Wash and scrub the skin of the sweet potato and prick it a couple of times with the prongs of a fork. Place the sweet potato on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 45 minutes or until the center of the sweet potato is tender. Remove from oven and keep aside to cool.
2. Once the sweet potato is cool enough to handle, peel and discard the outer skin. Transfer the pulp to a food processor and puree until smooth.
3. In a large thick bottom saucepan, add the sugar, nutmeg, milk, heavy cream, and honey and bring it to a boil on a medium flame. Remove the saucepan from the stove and gently whisk in 1 cup of the pureed sweet potato and whisk to mix. Place the saucepan back on the stove on a medium low flame and cook with constant stirring. Bring the mixture to a boil once again, reduce the flame to low and cook with constant stirring for 2 minutes. The mixture will thicken like a custard. Remove the saucepan from the stove and transfer the contents to a clean 1 gallon ziploc bag, seal and place in an ice-water bath for 30 minutes.
4. After chilling, pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister of your ice cream make. Churn until the ice cream no longer sticks to the sides of the canister and it does not freeze anymore, this should take about 30 minutes (Alternatively, follow the instructions on your ice cream maker).
5. Layer the frozen ice cream into a freezer-safe storage container with an airtight lid Cover the surface with a sheet of parchment paper and press firmly against the surface to remove any trapped air bubbles. Place the lid on the container and freeze until firm or at least 4 hours before serving. You can drizzle some extra honey over each scoop before serving.
38 Responses
I am hardly ever without sweet potatoes in my house – that's how much I love them. Turning it into ice cream is something I would love to try! This looks amazing, with that honey drizzled over the top. What a great dinner party dessert – it will be a conversation starter for sure. Enjoy the weekend!
Very original! I'd love to taste that ice cream.
Cheers,
Rosa
Just discovered your blog, and I love your photographic style, especially that luscious charred sweet potato. Great recipe, just pinned!
This is just gorgeous! Omg Nik! I love it !
Have a wonderful dinner party, Nik! Like you, I just adore freshly ground whole nutmeg. Nutmeg and anise are my favorite spices to use in baking. Fabulous flavor combo for ice cream! Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend!
What a fantastic flavor for ice cream!
Drizzling honey on the ice cream is like icing on a cake. Your ice cream sounds like it would be divine!
Absolutely loved reading about your grandmother — nutmeg is a great spice and i'm sure pairs so well with sweet potatoes. Yummy ice cream and hope you have fun playing the host 🙂
What an original twist! And your pictures for this recipe are perfect, as always 🙂 x
Nutmeg and sweet potatoes were meant for each other! And so, apparently, were sweet potatoes and ice cream. Yum!!
This looks delicious. I would eat sweet potatoes at every meal if I could. Now I have a new way to add it to my menus! Thanks Nik.
Yum! What a great way to enjoy sweet potatoes! 🙂
You're right, this is way cool! Love your post here, great job!!
You too Monica, I hope you are having a great weekend. Thanks!
Thanks, Rosa! It's very fall themed.
Thank you so much Sue, It is great to meet you and I hope to see you soon!
Thank you, Simi!
Thank you Stacy! I hope you have a great weekend too.
Thanks so much!
Thanks John! I am so happy you stopped by!
She definitely peddled the nutmeg! The dinner party was fun.
Thank you so much, Consuela for being so kind.
Haha, so true Joanne!
Thank you Dena, I am so happy you share the same love for sweet potatoes as I do!
Thanks, Nancy!
Thanks, Dan.
Sweet potato ice cream? Sign me up! Love this idea – definitely something I should try. And I think the honey addition is great. Good stuff – thanks.
Wow! I have never heard of ice cream made from sweet potatoes. I use it in my cakes and other desserts though as a starch. This must taste yummy.
Amazing flavor profile you have created in this ice cream. I love nutmeg especially with root veggies. Loved the shots of baked sweet potato particularly. Yum!
I'm intrigued about using sweet potato in a dessert. Combined with nutmeg I am sure it is a winner 🙂
Wonderful pics for this intriguing ice cream recipe, very nice work Nik!
I must say, I am intrigued. Very unique and original. Great shots.
Yesterday, I made your luscious ice-cream & it was the best,…:)
So good, so creamy & divine too! x
I can't wait to try it. Where would I find the instructions for the peach sauce mentioned in step 5?
OMG, thanks for pointing that out, there is no peach sauce in this ice cream. I've corrected and updated my typo.
This sounds so amazing! I can't wait to try it. I really enjoy your recipes & photography! 🙂
hi Nik..this recipe is amazing and i would love to make it.. but what is the weight (in grams) for a large potato in this recipe? thank you
Hmmmm…. Going to have to Veganize this!!!