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Sweet Potato Souffles

16 made it | 4 reviews | 3 photos

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Recipe by: Chef John

"It's a universal fact that people love puffy food, souffles being one of most versatile. As long as you don't knock all the air out of the egg whites in the batter, not much can actually go wrong. Since mashed sweet potato is the base, these souffles are even easier than the traditional method that requires a saucy base. They'll deflate quickly after exiting the oven, so hurry and snap those photos! Serve with cayenne-seasoned maple syrup if you like."

Directions

Place sweet potatoes on a microwave-safe plate. Prick sweet potatoes with the tip of a knife. Microwave until very soft, about 10 minutes. Let cool briefly until safe to handle.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Halve sweet potatoes and scoop flesh out into a bowl.
Separate egg whites and yolks into individual mixing bowls. Generously butter four 5-ounce ramekins.
Transfer 1 cup mashed sweet potato to the bowl of egg yolks. Pour in milk. Season with salt and cayenne. Whisk until smooth, slowly at first and faster once mixture starts to come together.
Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites. Beat with a clean whisk until peaks are well-defined but still soft. Transfer 1/2 of the egg whites to the sweet potato mixture. Fold in with a spatula somewhat gently until most of the white streaks disappear. Add the remaining egg whites and fold in very gently, turning the bowl and scraping the sides, until whites are mostly blended in; a few streaks should still be visible.
Gently spoon sweet potato mixture into the ramekins.
Bake in the preheated oven until fully inflated and browned, about 15 minutes. Garnish with sage. Unmold or serve in ramekins.

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Footnotes

Chef's Notes:
Sometimes even red-skinned sweet potatoes aren't necessarily orange inside; you can scrape the skin to check.
Instead of microwaving, feel free to roast them in the oven at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
I kept these very plain, so as not to distract you, but you can add all sorts of things - cheese, bacon, or herbs, etc. These will also shine as a dessert. Just add some warm spices and maple syrup or brown sugar to the mashed potatoes.