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Baked Sweet Potato Custard

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings 4 ramekins

Ingredients

For the Custard

  • 1 ½ cups sweet potato roasted and mashed, about 2 medium
  • 1 cup half and half or heavy cream
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • ¼ cup brown sugar packed
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

For Serving

  • ½ cup whipped cream
  • 1 pinch ground cinnamon for dusting

Instructions

Roast and Mash

  • Roast whole sweet potatoes at 400°F for 45 to 60 minutes, until soft all the way through. Cool, peel, and mash well to get 1 ½ cups. Let the mash cool to warm or room temperature.

Make the Custard

  • Reduce the oven to 325°F. Whisk the mashed sweet potato with the brown sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
  • Whisk in the eggs until fully combined, then slowly stream in the half and half. Whisk steadily without beating air into the base. Pass it through a fine-mesh sieve if the sweet potatoes were stringy.
  • Divide between four 6-ounce ramekins and set them in a deep baking dish. Pour hot water into the dish until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
  • Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the edges are set and a quarter-sized circle in the center still jiggles when the dish is nudged. The center should read 170°F to 175°F.
  • Lift the ramekins out of the water bath and cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Serve just warm or chilled, topped with whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon.

Notes

  • Roast, don't boil: Boiled sweet potato carries extra water and makes the custard weep.
  • Water must not boil: Bubbles around the ramekins mean the oven is too hot and the eggs will curdle.
  • Jiggle test: Nudge the dish instead of cutting into the custard with a knife.
  • Storage: Up to 4 days covered in the refrigerator. Freezing is not recommended, as baked egg custard separates.