Warm Sweet Potato-Apple Pone

By Jerrelle Guy

Updated Nov. 24, 2020

Warm Sweet Potato-Apple Pone
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
45 minutes to 1¼ hours
Rating
4(517)
Comments
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Sweet potato pone is a baked custard pudding-like dish that’s something like a crustless sweet potato pie. This version is made with whole shreds of sweet potato, which is how it’s often served during the holidays throughout the Caribbean and parts of the American South. It’s a versatile dessert that can be made with other warming spices like ginger, nutmeg or clove, a little orange zest, or even rum-soaked raisins. This is a simplified version that replaces half of the sweet potatoes with shredded apple, which adds natural sweetness and a bit of creaminess as it cooks down. Choose from baking varieties like Honeycrisp, Fuji or Gala. Serve the pone warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 2tablespoons melted unsalted butter, plus 2 teaspoons for greasing
  • 1medium sweet, crisp baking apple, such as Honeycrisp, Fuji or Gala
  • 1teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1medium sweet potato, peeled and shredded (about 1½ cups)
  • 1cup evaporated milk
  • ¼packed cup/55 grams light brown sugar
  • ¼cup/30 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1large egg, lightly beaten
  • 2teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1½teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½teaspoon kosher salt
  • Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

355 calories; 16 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 45 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 31 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 359 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease two 15-ounce au gratin pans or one 8-by-8-inch (or other similar size) baking dish with 2 teaspoons butter and set on a baking sheet.

  2. Step 2

    Peel and core the apple, then shred the apple using a box grater. Quickly pile the shreds in the center of a clean kitchen towel and squeeze them over the sink to remove excess water. Transfer to a large bowl along with the lemon juice and toss to coat. Add the sweet potatoes, evaporated milk, brown sugar, flour, egg, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Stir until thoroughly combined.

  3. Step 3

    Divide the mixture between the au gratin pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or transfer to the 8-by-8-inch baking dish and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until the pone is slightly puffed, golden brown at the edges and set just enough that it doesn’t jiggle when you shake the pan. Let cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes, then serve warm with ice cream.

Ratings

4 out of 5
517 user ratings
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Comments

Jude

Professional chef here, just made this for my personal thanksgiving tomorrow and I like the recipe exactly as it is. This can be made in advance and reheated! Just make sure to reheat slowly at a lower temperature, or the eggs will lose their custardy-ness. Walnuts would be a good addition to this. If you are lactose intolerant or only have regular milk at home, you can make evaporated milk by reducing 2 cups of whole milk (or a milk substitute) down to one cup by simmering it for ~30 min.

Sheila

Nice fall dessert that I will make again - with less sugar. I halved the recipe (used an entire egg), and baked in a round ceramic ramekin. My honeycrisp apples were extremely juicy and reduced to next to nothing when I wrung them out, so I used an entire apple. Substituted coconut milk + half-and-half for evaporated milk, and added nutmeg, allspice, & cloves. It was done after about 43 minutes. Very nice with ginger ice cream (though a bit too sweet).

CL

I ‘vegan-ize’ most recipes by replacing beaten eggs with 3-4 tbsp aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas) or 55 ml applesauce. [In bread/muffin-type recipes, I also increase baking powder 1/4tsp to offset the missing “lift” often given by eggs]. Here, I would beat the aquafaba with fork/whisk before adding it. It should be fine.

TJ Legge

Loved this and added it to my sweet potato pone collection. I used a bundt pan and had no issues with uncooked middle.

Diane

Do you think it would be okay to substitute almond flour for the AP flour?

karen b

Wonderful dessert! Thank you readers for the advice about reducing the sugar: I used 2 tablespoons and it was perfect. I wanted to serve it warm, so I prepared everything in a bowl ahead of time, leaving out the egg and flour. Right before dinner was served, I pre-heated the oven, added the egg and flour and baked it in an 9x9 glass pan for about 50 minutes. The aroma while baking is like an apple pie- so delectable. Served warm with vanilla/chocolate chip ice cream...mmmmm.

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