Pen patat

Ingredients

The base

• 1.5 kgsweet potato
• peeled and grated
• 3ripe bananas
• mashed
• or 2 ripe plantains

The liquid

• 800 mlcoconut milk
• full fat
• 200 gbrown sugar
• or cane syrup
• 80 gbutter, melted
• 2eggs, beaten, optional

The spices

• 1 teaspoonground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoonground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoonground ginger
• 1 teaspoonvanilla
• grated zest of 1 lime
• a pinch of salt
• 1star anise, optional

To bake

• a deep buttered dish
• or a banana leaf lining

Directions

1. Grate it finely rather than coarsely. Fine grating gives a smooth pudding. Use the fine side of the grater. Light versions give a thin watery pudding. Cover it with foil if it darkens. Peel all of the sweet potatoes. Grate them finely into a bowl. It takes a real amount of time by hand.
2. Use the grating disc rather than the blade. Do not worry about it at all really. Mash the ripe bananas thoroughly. Use genuinely ripe soft bananas. They should be speckled and soft. Put the grated potato in a large bowl. Add all the mashed banana to it. Stir them together thoroughly. Add the coconut milk and sugar. Add the melted butter to them.
3. Add the eggs if you are using them. Some versions use eggs and some do not. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Add the vanilla and lime zest. Add the pinch of salt to them. It stops it from tasting flat.
4. Stir everything together thoroughly. It should be evenly combined throughout. Stir it properly rather than briefly. Judging the mixture takes a look. Add coconut milk if it is very thick. It should be pourable but heavy.
5. Butter a deep baking dish well. This is a deep pudding rather than a thin one. Use a dish with real deep sides. Line the dish with banana leaf. It also stops the pudding sticking.
6. Pour the mixture into the dish. Heat the oven to one hundred and seventy degrees. Bake it for about ninety minutes. Raw grated potato takes real time. Cover it loosely with foil if it darkens. Do that after about forty-five minutes.
7. Take the foil off near the end. Judging it takes a skewer test. Let it cool completely in the dish. Cutting it warm gives a sloppy slice. Cut it into squares or wedges. It keeps four days refrigerated.

Technique

• The sweet potato is grated raw rather than boiled and mashed, and that is what gives the pudding texture: the raw starch releases slowly and thickens the mixture as it bakes, where cooked mashed potato gives a smoother softer result. Grate it finely, since coarse shreds stay visible and stringy.
• It bakes for well over an hour at a moderate one hundred and seventy degrees, since raw grated potato needs that time and the pudding needs to set. A hotter oven browns the top before the middle cooks — cover it loosely with foil after about forty-five minutes if it darkens, and test with a skewer rather than judging by colour.
• Let it cool completely in the dish, at least two hours, since it sets considerably as it cools and cutting it warm gives a sloppy slice. It firms further refrigerated and slices very cleanly then; both warm and cold are eaten.

Substitutions

• Ripe plantain stands in for banana and gives a firmer denser and less sweet pudding; both are genuinely made.
• Eggs give a firmer set and without them it is looser and softer; both versions are made in Haiti.

Variations

• Use full fat coconut milk, since light versions give a thin watery pudding and the fat carries the richness.
• Lime zest lifts the whole pudding and cuts the richness of the coconut, and is characteristic of the Haitian version.
• Grated sweet potato darkens in the air, which is harmless and disappears once baked.

History

Dense sweet potato pudding with coconut milk, banana and spices, baked for holidays and family gatherings.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pen patat?

Pen patat is a dessert from Haiti: sweet potato-banana pudding cake with coconut milk. Dense sweet potato pudding with coconut milk, banana and spices, baked for holidays and family gatherings.

How long does Pen patat take to make?

Pen patat takes 40 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 10. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Pen patat?

Yes, within limits. Ripe plantain stands in for banana and gives a firmer denser and less sweet pudding; both are genuinely made. Eggs give a firmer set and without them it is looser and softer; both versions are made in Haiti.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pen patat?

Grate it finely rather than coarsely. Fine grating gives a smooth pudding. Use the fine side of the grater. Light versions give a thin watery pudding. Cover it with foil if it darkens. Peel all of the sweet potatoes. Grate them finely into a bowl. It takes a real amount of time by hand.