Sweet Potato Bread Pudding

 

Black History Month has always been a very important month where we celebrate the lives and culture of African-Americans. This year, it has an even more importance with everything that has transpired over the past year.

Sweet potato pie is one dessert that has always been served at all holidays and events in the Black Southern culture.

James Beard award-winning author Adrian Miller chronicled the evolution of many soul food staples, such as the sweet potato, in his book Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate. As he explained, Sweet potatoes were introduced to West Africa around the 16th century. The sweet potato first found success in Europe and later in America due to the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which forced the migration of countless human-beings and relocated them primarily in the South. The popularity that sweet potatoes ultimately found within the black community was due to convenience.

Soul food historians have written at length about the impact that the Great Migration had on the diets of African-Americans. Before leaving the South, African-Americans had been largely tied to agriculture and farming. Many dishes and ways of life were left behind for the convenience of the bigger cities, the realities of smaller living spaces and lack of access to plots of land on which to grow food. Much of their food culture was lost, but the sweet potato — and its pie — remained.

“It’s just one of those foods that evokes deep, deep nostalgia for either family situations or communal situations,” asserted Miller. “It’s a taste of home. It’s a taste of church. It’s the taste of family reunions. You know those settings where you can kind of escape from everything else that’s happening in the world. You’ve got this bond, you’re feeling the love.”

And bread pudding is a dessert found amongst many cultures. Each with various preparation methods and ingredients.

And it is also another favorite amongst African Americans.

As per Linda Schneider from Taste Cooking, she says “Bread pudding is an old dish with humble roots. It evolved out of necessity, as a means of using up leftover, stale bread at a time when food was scarce. If the last heel of bread in the house was too stiff to chew, you could always add a bit of warm liquid and sugar to it and make it new again.”

“Modern bread pudding typically starts with a custard that consists of eggs whisked with milk or cream and thickened over low heat. Some recipes call for sliced bread; others for cubed bread.”

So I decided to combine the two desserts and make a Sweet Potato Bread Pudding topped with a Pecan Caramel Sauce. This is one of the best bread puddings I have ever made.

Purée baked sweet potatoes in a good processor with eggs, cream, spices, sugar, butter and vanilla extract.

Cut up a hearty loaf of bread. You can use a farmstyle loaf or even a challah. I wouldn’t use a sourdough loaf because of the strong taste. It could overpower the rest of the ingredients. I also wouldn’t use plain sliced sandwich bread unless it’s at least a week old because it’s too soft and thin and would not hold up with the custard. Most supermarkets have a bakery section where they sell firmer heartier bread loaves. These are perfect to use.

Cut into bread cubes, then pour the sweet potato custard on top of the cubes in a large bowl.

Spoon into a deep baking dish and bake for about and hour and a half. Serve with chopped pecans and a caramel sauce.

This is definitely one to make at your next Sunday dinner.

Food has always played a large role in African American culture. For centuries, it’s been how celebrate family, express love and simply brings everyone together. So, this month, we celebrate Black History and all of its contributions in the world.