First, let me just say, that this is an authentic creation, that is truly classified as “labor for love.” Why? With all the high tech gadgets that are available, I GRATED all the tuberous roots with my bare hands. Yes I did! I sure got my work out for the week. If I keep up this attitude, my arms will be fully sculpted and toned before I know it.
My grandma bake this dessert quite often. She would sell it at times, and would easily run out of stock, due to the overwhelming demand and because it was so d’luscious. The baking pan she utilized for her sweet potato pudding was so huge, you could bathe three babies in it. She didn’t use her oven, even though she had one. What she used was a charcoal stove. She used a sheet of zinc metal to cover the baking pan. Charcoal was placed underneath the baking pan, as well as, on top of the zinc. With her own unique style and grace, she manuevered the charcoal to calibrate the temperature, you would’ve sworn she was turning knobs on an oven. Never once did it burn. The best part, was the crust on top of her sweet potato pudding.The aroma not only filled the air, it would engulf the entire household, as well as outdoors. It was magnificient!
As I multitasked around the house, doing laundry, cleaning and cooking, I just couldn’t wait to bake my sweet potato pudding. I didn’t care how late it was, or how long it would take me. It would have to fit into the schedule today. I placed all the ingredients on the kitchen counter, photographed them, whipped out my grater, and began to grate. Periodically, I would stop and rest a while.
Even though it’s called sweet potato pudding, there is more than just sweet potatoes included in this delectable treat. Yes, I just had to be different. I know… My mixture was more than enough for one container, so I poured the mixture into four separate containers: a ramekin, an 8″ inch cake pan, a 9 x 13 sheet pan and an oval baking dish. My son D’Angelo and I devoured the oval dish without effort. The following morning, I noticed that half of the ramekin was eaten. I don’t know who did and didn’t ask, and I couldn’t care less. Hey…I still had not one, but two other sweet potato pudding filled containers.
In the USA, when we refer to puddings, the texture is creamy, sort of like a yogurt consistency. Whenever a Jamaican ask for pudding, it’s more of a cross between an american pudding and a cake. It’s somewhere in the middle, not too hard, not too soft. It’s a gooey, slightly doughy texture. My son D’Angelo enjoys when the texture is somewhere in between the American and Jamaican version. This was created D’Angelo Stlyle.