Sweet Potato Souffle Truffles

photo by Jennifer Gibson of Surreal Confections

This is a recipe that admittedly takes some time. After attempting this only once, it has become a requested holiday item. It may require a bit of tweaking before I'm fully satisfied, but it's definitely ready to share. If you're a fan of Sweet Potatoes (or even if you're not, I've come to find) you have to try this once in your life.

Chef's Note: The northern and western parts of my home country will refer to this vegetable as a Yam. This, while a very popular assumption, does nothing to alter the fact that they're all WRONG. Deal and move on.

Interesting bonus - because the bulk of this item is, in fact, an edible root, the whole thing counts as a vegetable! Right? Take that, food pyramid!


What you need:

2 lbs Sweet Potatoes, whole (two good sized ones)
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
1 & 1/2 cups Brown Sugar
4 Eggs
1/2 cup Milk
4 tbsp AP Flour
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tbsp Vanilla Extract

1 lb Dark Chocolate (chips or pieces)
1/2 lb Milk Chocolate (again, chips or pieces)
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups Crushed Pecans

What you do:

-Bake off your Sweet Potatoes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 30 minutes or until nice and squishy. Pull from heat and let rest until just cool enough to handle.

-Remove the skin from the Sweets and set the orange pulpy yumminess aside. Use the skins to create a festive hat for yourself. Or just discard, whatever. For the intent and purpose of this recipe, the skins are no longer useful to you. Hell, deep-fry and salt 'em, and call them Sweetie Chips for all I care. (wait a sec, there's an idea. DIBS!)

-Combine Potatoes, Butter, Brown Sugar, Eggs, Milk, Flour, Cinnamon, Vanilla, and Ginger in a conventional mixer with a whisk attachment and let it go at medium speed until well blended.

-Pour everything into a lightly oiled baking dish of your choice. Make sure there is a little room at the top of the dish, this will puff up a bit.

-Bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour, or until set. If you can insert a table knife into the center and pull it out clean, you're good to go.

Not so pretty right now. Just wait...

-Set aside to cool. When just above room temp, pull off small chunks and form into balls, maybe an inch to inch and a half across. Set the souffle balls to the side, arranged so as to not touch each other. Allow them to finish cooling. Well, more or less. This will be a little messy, so gloves are recommended.

-Now, it's time to prepare the ganache. (That would be the chocolately outside, for you confectionary newcomers) Begin by dropping the Dark Chocolate into a double boiler. (If you're like most people, you don't have a double boiler. Not to worry, but you will need a pot with an inch of water in the bottom and a metal bowl somewhat larger that the pot. Now, set the pot over medium heat and put the bowl on top. Problem solved. Be warned, though, you'll want to let some steam out every so often to regulate the temperature.) While melting, stir slowly with a whisk.

-When fully melted, add the Milk Chocolate and stir slowly to incorporate.

-Slowly add the Heavy Cream. You want a thick mixture, slightly glossy, but not runny. It will harden back after it cools, but can be brought back around with the application of more indirect heat. DO NOT OVERCOOK.

-Line a baking sheet with parchment and set next to your work area. This is where your fledgling truffles will land during this part of the process.

Truffles cooling on the counter

-Using spoons, transfer the cooled souffle balls into and out of the ganache. Make sure the chocolate fully covers each ball. Place them, one at a time, on your baking sheet and top with Crushed Pecans. Make sure you have this done before the chocolate sets too fully.

-Allow to completely cool before serving. And by serving, I mean sneaking into the laundry room and double-fisting them down, stopping only occasionally to take in a breath.

 I think it's what's inside that counts, really.

Irish Coffee

Guinness (shown with Bailey's for scale)

It is in the larger hours of the evening, I have had to correct three typos in this sentence so far (ok make it four) and it's Saint Patrick's Day. I must be a little hammered. But let's discuss how my present level of mild intoxication started. Yes, it was a simple cocktail with dessert: Irish Coffee. Alcohol to get the night started, and caffeine to.. um... get the night started. (I mentioned I've been drinking?)

Anyhoo, if you want to learn of the long and vivid history of the Irish Coffee from birth to its present state of maturity, do a Google search and be done with it. I'm dealing purely with the two types I put together tonight. Both have their own unique charm, both allow for a good amount of customization. Let's start with the Traditional.

Irish Coffee in the traditional method - Good Irish whiskey, strong black coffee, brown sugar, and lightly whipped cream floated across the top. Just like Mom used to make. Seriously. Mom was Irish, and strong in the ways of Mixology. In brief:

Irish Coffee, Traditional

1 cup Strong Black Coffee
1 shot Jameson Irish Whiskey
2 teaspoons Brown Sugar
2 oz Heavy Cream (whipped into soft peaks)

-Pour hot coffee into a tall, clear glass. There are specialized glasses for this, but it really doesn't matter a whole lot unless you're one of those sticklers for details.

-Add Whiskey and Brown Sugar. Stir until fully incorporated.

-Add whipped cream. If very thick, place a dollop in the middle. If thin enough to pour, do so over a spoon to prevent mixing. The heat from the coffee will bring thicker whipped cream down to a good consistency. Otherwise, you're good to go.

Irish Coffee in the more Americanized Method -  Bailey's & Coffee style. Everything is uniform and it takes additional flavoring well. At least, better than the traditional method. The recipe is easy, too.

6 oz Strong Black Coffee
6 oz Bailey's Irish Cream
1/2 shot Irish Whiskey (optional)

-Mix all ingredients in a clear glass. Yay. Add other stuff to alter/enhance flavor such as mint, chocolate, vanilla, or something fruity if you're feeling particularly, well, fruity that night.

Irish Coffees, for contrast

Now, to view the rest of the culinary festivities that have taken  place for the holiday, give a look at Surreal Confections here: http://surrealconfections.blogspot.com/2012/03/st-patricks-day.html

The Irish Coffee can be expertly used to start a night of drinking, as a pick-me-up during a night of drinking, as a dessert cocktail, and for those "Hair of the Dog" mornings. Very tasty, very versatile. It deserves a second look by the imbibing community. Slainte!