There’s a lot to enjoy about the summer time, but I have to confess: Fall is my favorite season. While I glory in the sunshine that’s ripening my watermelon, sometimes I steal away to the kitchen to whip up this sweet potato ice cream—just enough fall flavor to tide me over during the heat!
This ice cream comes together very quickly if you have leftover sweet potatoes from last night’s dinner. Although it has a similar flavor to pumpkin ice cream, my family likes sweet potato ice cream better. Baked sweet potatoes are smooth and evenly sweet, without being too overpowering in flavor—pumpkin, on the other hand, can get bossy with your taste buds. Using sweet potatoes in this recipe gives your ice cream a subtle but sweet flavor, without tasting too much like a vegetable. And the color is so lovely.
A big benefit to adding sweet potatoes (or pumpkins) to your ice cream is that you’re adding a superfood to a treat. According to the USDA, 1/2 cup of sweet potato provides more than a day’s worth of vitamin A.
Ingredients
- 4 cups milk
- 1 T. organic beef gelatin, optional (Gelatin adds nutritional content and makes the finished ice cream a bit smoother.)
- 2 medium-sized, baked sweet potatoes (about 1½ cups)
- 1 cup cream (kefir, sour cream or yogurt will work, too; if you use kefir, cut it down to 1/4 cup)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. clove
- 1/4 tsp. powdered ginger
- 2 pinches sea salt
Preparation
If you decide to use gelatin, warm the milk and beef gelatin in a pot over medium heat until gelatin is dissolved. If you’re using raw milk or kefir, keep the temperature under 115 degrees to keep it alive. Stir frequently while the gelatin dissolves. Allow to cool to room temperature. If you omit the gelatin, you do not need to warm your milk.
Remove the jacket from the sweet potatoes, and process in a blender. Add cooled milk and remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth and the sugar is completely integrated. Follow the directions for your ice cream maker to freeze.
If you happen to have pumpkin on hand, you can use this same recipe and just replace the sweet potatoes with a can of pumpkin (or about 1½ cups pumpkin purée).
