Japanese Sweet Potato Ice Cream

I went to Whole Foods to try and find the Ube Purple Yams and grabbed Japanese Sweet Potatoes thinking they were the same thing. Well to my surprise as I was peeling them, they were not purple inside but a cream color.

Still very sweet compared to our orange variety, I decided to see if the Japanese used them to make ice cream, and they do.

You’ll need a food processor and ice cream maker to make this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
5 egg yolks
1 cup Sweet potato purée
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon


Directions:

Heat the milk, cream and sugar in a medium size saucepan until it starts to boil and the sugar is dissolved.  In a bowl whisk the egg yolks slowly then pour the hot milk mixture about a cup at a time whisking constantly. Once all the milk has been poured into the bowl then transfer it back into the saucepan, continue to whisk until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Do not boil.

Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, combine with the sweet potato purée and spices. Cover and refridgerate at least for 3 hours. Put into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When done place in a freezer safe container and freeze for 2 hours.

PS: To make sweet potato purée peel, clean and cut up your potatoes. Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender. Place them in a food processor and process until smooth.