A tuber that inspires! Sweet potatoes (also known as white potatoes, batates and tuberous bindweed) are becoming increasingly popular in the kitchen. The crop originally only grew near the equator in Central America to Colombia. China is now the most important cultivation country and cultivation trials have even been successful in Germany. You probably know that sweet potatoes are great for savory dishes. But the tuber is also an enrichment for sweet dishes.
Baked sweet potato - with a sweet filling
Are you familiar with baked sweet potato with herb quark? Do it differently this time. After you have baked the sweet potato in the oven at 200 °C with top and bottom heat (depending on the thickness, it takes approx. 40 to 50 minutes until it is soft), you can fill it with sweet ingredients. Mix your own yogurt mixture, e.g. with soy crispies, fresh fruit and cocoa powder. You can fill this into the sliced sweet potato. Either leave them to cool beforehand or enjoy them warm. With toppings, you can enjoy them as a small meal, dessert or even as breakfast. Tastes delicious and fills you up!
Sweet potato casserole with fruit
When you think of casseroles, do you automatically think of savory? But the sweet version is also easy and delicious. In the USA, for example, sweet potato casserole is a Thanksgiving classic.
Apples, pears, bananas, mangoes and pineapple, for example, go well with your sweet potato casserole. You can season with cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom and cloves, among others. Chocolatey ingredients also harmonize with the batata. So cocoa powder, cocoa beans or chocolate work well in the sweet casserole. Nut lovers can refine their casserole with nut butter or chopped nuts. Maple syrup is ideal for a sweet taste. However, you can also use other sweetening ingredients such as agave syrup, honey, sugar or panela.
A casserole needs liquid to be successful. This traditionally comes in the form of cow's milk/cream and eggs, which are mixed together. Alternatively, you can also use a plant-based drink. A coconut, almond or hazelnut drink is particularly tasty.
And this is how it works: Preheat the oven to approx. 220 °C and rub the casserole dish with a little oil or fat. If you don't want to leave the casserole in the oven for too long, we recommend boiling the sweet potatoes until al dente beforehand. Then cut the cooked sweet potatoes and fruit into pieces and place them in the prepared baking dish. Depending on your preference, you can now add the remaining ingredients of your choice and drizzle everything with the liquid. Bake the casserole in the preheated oven until all the ingredients are soft (about 20 minutes). You may need to add more liquid during baking. Once the casserole is ready, you can serve it with delicious toppings.
Sweet potatoes in a cake
Cake with sweet potatoes tastes surprisingly delicious, as they ensure that the cake remains moist. We generally recommend using sweet potatoes in grated or mashed form in your cake experiments to start with (it is best to boil them in water until al dente before grating or mashing). This is the easiest way to stir them in and they already have a dough-like consistency.
You can try it out this way: For existing sweet sponge cake recipes with grated carrots, apples or zucchinis, you can replace these ingredients with grated sweet potato. Just like the original ingredients, it will make your cake moist and delicious. The same goes for the sweet potato cake from your recipe collection. Here too, you can use the same amount of batata instead of the local potato. There are now also a whole host of recipes designed for sweet potatoes in cakes. You can already find a recipe for sweet potato brownies in our Food Journal.
Sweet potato cookies
Cookies are also easy to bake. Boil approx. 300 g of sweet potatoes until they are firm to the bite and then grate them. Alternatively, you can also chop the cooked tubers in a food processor. Mix these with the following ingredients: 100 g fruit puree (e.g. apple or pear puree), 1 egg, 50 g chopped nuts (e.g. peanuts, almonds or cashews) and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Use your hands to shape the dough into cookies and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake at 200 °C for approx. 10 to 15 minutes - done!
Chocolate lovers can add cocoa nibs or chocolate drops. If you don't want to use an egg, you can replace it with a soft banana.
Sweet potato-based pancakes
These pancakes are easy to make without any flour! All you need is 1 cooked sweet potato, 1 to 2 whole eggs (depending on the size of the sweet potato), 1 heaped tablespoon of peanut butter and some coconut oil for frying. It is best to mash the soft tuber with a fork first and mix it with all the other ingredients. The pancakes taste particularly delicious if you spice up the batter - e.g. with cinnamon, vanilla flavoring or cocoa powder. Heat the coconut oil in a pan and fry your pancakes on both sides until they are a nice light brown color. Enjoy with maple syrup and toppings of your choice.
Sweet potato smoothie
Sweet potatoes ensure that your smoothie keeps you full for a long time, is creamy and also tastes delicious. Here is a suggestion for you: 1 sweet potato (soft-boiled), 1 banana, 150 ml coconut water, 50 ml plant-based drink (coconut rice) and cinnamon to taste. Grated coconut, cocoa nibs or ginger powder, for example, also go well with this.
