When we think of fall there’s two spice blends that come to my mind. In early fall it’s Pumpkin pie spice and in late fall and winter it’s Gingerbread Spice. In fact, I crave gingerbread spiced anything year round. For some time now I have been making sweet potato pie, without the crust. As I made another recently I inadvertently poured the pie filling into a very large pie pan. Once the pie was cooked and cooled it was too thin to remove as slices so it came out in scoops. It led me to thinking, hey let’s make this even easier and turn it into custard cups. Topped with gingerbread whip and you’ve got a low fuss, extremely delicious make ahead dessert. Both the custard and the whip can be made a day in advance. THE NIGHT BEFORE you plan to make this place the can of coconut milk in your fridge. This allows the coconut cream to separate from the coconut water. Poor quality/inferior coconut milks will not have quality coconut cream and this recipe will not work. ESSENTIAL to this recipe working is placing the mixing bowl and wire whip/beaters that you plan to whip the cream with in the freezer to fully chill, either the night before or at least a few hours before you plan to make the whip. If you skip this step the recipe will NOT turn out!
To prepare the sweet potatoes, my preferred way is to bake them. You can also used canned unsweetened sweet potatoes. Prick the potato skins and place on a rimmed parchment lined baking sheet in a preheated 400 F oven for about an hour or so, or until they are soft when pierced with a knife or fork. Allow to cool a little, but while they are still warm, cut in half width wise and scoop out the sweet potato flesh and mash or purée in a blender until smooth.
Add sweet potato purée and rest of the custard ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. You will need to scrape down the sides of the blender several times and then blend again until silky.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 inch glass pie pan or square 8-9 inch baking pan. Pour custard mixture into pan and bake in centre of pre-heated oven for 25-35 minutes, or until custard is cooked through. It should have some cracks on the top and have only a little jiggle to it in the centre. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Scoop into individual servings or cover it and place in the fridge for later.
Carefully remove can of coconut milk (do not turn can upside down or shake) from your fridge that has been chilling overnight. Scoop the solid coconut cream that has separated from the water in the can and add the cream to your chilled mixing bowl. Set aside the coconut water for smoothies. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. This should take only a few minutes or so. Beat in maple syrup to taste and then the gingerbread spice mix to taste.
Scoop whip onto your individual custard servings and store remainder of whip in an airtight container for up to 5 days or so.
Ingredients
Directions
To prepare the sweet potatoes, my preferred way is to bake them. You can also used canned unsweetened sweet potatoes. Prick the potato skins and place on a rimmed parchment lined baking sheet in a preheated 400 F oven for about an hour or so, or until they are soft when pierced with a knife or fork. Allow to cool a little, but while they are still warm, cut in half width wise and scoop out the sweet potato flesh and mash or purée in a blender until smooth.
Add sweet potato purée and rest of the custard ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. You will need to scrape down the sides of the blender several times and then blend again until silky.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 inch glass pie pan or square 8-9 inch baking pan. Pour custard mixture into pan and bake in centre of pre-heated oven for 25-35 minutes, or until custard is cooked through. It should have some cracks on the top and have only a little jiggle to it in the centre. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Scoop into individual servings or cover it and place in the fridge for later.
Carefully remove can of coconut milk (do not turn can upside down or shake) from your fridge that has been chilling overnight. Scoop the solid coconut cream that has separated from the water in the can and add the cream to your chilled mixing bowl. Set aside the coconut water for smoothies. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. This should take only a few minutes or so. Beat in maple syrup to taste and then the gingerbread spice mix to taste.
Scoop whip onto your individual custard servings and store remainder of whip in an airtight container for up to 5 days or so.