Sweet potato pudding is Jamaican comfort baking at its finest — dense, moist, and rich with coconut milk, raisins and warm spice. The old nickname "hell a top, hell a bottom" comes from the traditional method of baking it in a coal stove with fire above and below.

Ingredients

  • 2 lb sweet potato, finely grated
  • 2 cups coconut milk
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup flour + ½ cup raisins
  • ¼ cup melted butter
  • 1 tbsp mixed spice (nutmeg + cinnamon)
  • 1 tsp vanilla + pinch of salt

Method

  1. Peel and finely grate the sweet potato (a food processor saves your arms).
  2. In a large bowl, mix the grated potato with the coconut milk, brown sugar, flour, raisins, melted butter, spices, vanilla and salt into a thick, pourable batter.
  3. Pour into a greased baking pan and smooth the top.
  4. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 1 hour, until set and a knife comes out mostly clean (it stays moist and dense).
  5. Cool completely before slicing — it firms up as it cools.

🍠 Don't underbake

The center should be just set, not wet. If the top browns too fast, tent it with foil and keep baking — a true pudding wants the full hour.