Sweet Potato Pudding

Most people think of desserts as something to get fat to. But as I point out in my book, Fuck Portion Control that is absolutely not how fat works. We get fat when there are significant stressors to our metabolic health—it is a protective mechanism against death, and in most people this a result of microbial gut dysbiosis which causes the body to shore up calories as a defense against infection. Most of my life I avoided desserts and sugar and still got fat. My eternally fit father on the other hand has had dessert nightly for his entire life, usually right after dinner, and has always had a six pack. This seeming paradox is nothing of the sort, as regular consumption of well-made sweet foods actively helps to support the metabolic rate and youthful characteristics. Many people who start eating this way to restore their metabolic rate do meet with increases in weight gain, but that is because we already harbor those microbes like H. pylori or Candida yeast which then feed on the increase in carbohydrates and the increase in carbs merely serves to reveal their presence. You can hardly get well by starving yourself of carbohydrates and sugar—those microbes will long outlast your efforts to deprive them of fuel. My book explains in detail how to go about ridding your body of such invasive pathogens, which involves the consumption of high-sulfur foods and exposure to sunlight, as well as some medicinal therapies which help to suppress their growth and the symptoms they cause. Sweet potato is a food that helps restore the metabolic rate, but sometimes it seems you can only have sweet potato so many ways. This indulgent dessert is an exception full of nutrients and metabolic fuel to get your body temperature and metabolic rate up where it should be. Most cream products nowadays have added gum as a cheat to make you think it’s thick, but these gums can present digestive problems and fuel unhelpful bacterial growth. Read the ingredients and make sure you purchase cream products without additives (and complain to your grocer if they carry them!). Because this dish contains lots of protein, carbs, and fat, it also makes a great breakfast. Halfway between a cake and a custard, the earthy sweet potato is offset by fruity tamarind to make a dish that is great for any season.

SWEET POTATO PUDDING

2 large or 3-4 small Sweet Potatoes, peeled
4 tbsp Butter
3 cups Whole Milk
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 tsp Tamarind Paste
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
4 Eggs
1/4 cup Flour such as Einkorn or Spelt
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
3/4 cup Heavy Cream
2 tbsp Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut sweet potatoes into cubes. Heat butter in a pan, add sweet potato, salt, and cover, cooking for 25-30 minutes over medium heat until potatoes are extremely soft, stirring occasionally. Do not brown. Once potatoes are done puree them in a food processor or blender with 1/2 the milk, or smash by hand using a potato smasher, fork, or whisk. When smooth, transfer to mixing bowl, add remaining milk, sugar, flour, nutmeg, and tamarind paste. Mix until combined. Add eggs and mix again. Butter a springform cake pan, or you can use a large soufflé dish, and pour in batter. Transfer to oven and bake for about 1 hour or until center no longer wobbles when disturbed. Allow to rest for at least 2 hours, 4 if using a springform pan so it stays standing when sides are removed. When ready to serve, whip cream with sugar and serve with pudding. If you don’t have a mixer—hand whipped cream is actually better and takes less time than using an electric mixer, requiring just a whisk and a bit of muscle power and endurance to get you to the end.