Name: Jalea de Batata Dulce | Dominican Dessert Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 16
Cuisine: Dominican Republic
Ingredients: 2 lbs. of batatas or white sweet potatoes, boiled soft with a cinnamon stick + salt; 2 cinnamon sticks; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 5 cups coconut milk; 3 cups evaporated milk; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon ground clove; 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom; 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1 cup sugar; 1/2 cup raisins; 3 Tablespoons Salted Honey Brown Butter; 1/4 cup of toasted coconut flakes (optional) - garnish

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5 from 11 reviews

Jalea de Batata Dulce is a traditional Dominican dessert served during Easter week. This silky pudding-like dessert is made using white sweet potato, coconut milk, evaporated milk, warm spices like cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and with a toasty note from salted honey brown butter. Garnish this white sweet potato pudding with toasted coconut flakes and a sprinkle of nutmeg. In this post, you will learn what exactly batata is and how to make this Dominican recipe.

Jalea de Batata Dulce in a dessert glass bowl with a wooden spoon. Recipe at Spoonabilities.com — *Recipe post may have affiliate links; read our* *disclosure policy*. *Photographs ©Carlos Leo, Spoonabilities*

Hello my friends. It’s Easter week, and for this week’s recipe, I’m bringing you a traditional Easter dessert from my country, which is the Dominican Republic if you didn’t know or you just arrived at Spoonabilities for the first time. Besides usual Catholic traditions, we Dominicans love to cook desserts this week. And, the desserts we make during Easter week are my all-time favorite Dominican desserts. This week's recipe is Jalea de Batata Dulce, or White Sweet Potato Pudding.

Jalea de Batata Dulce is the second Dominican dessert here at Spoonabilities. The first Easter dessert was published a couple of years ago called Fried Dough Balls / Dominican Buñuelos. In that recipe post, I talk about Dominican Easter traditions and my appreciation of every person who supported me during my journey to, and establishing a home in, the United States. That blog post is also called “immigrant food stories.” Learn in the post why it is called this way 😊.

What other names does Batata have?

Batata has different names depending on where you are from. Different countries call it boniato, tropical sweet potato, Cuban sweet potato, batiste, and camote. You can find this root vegetable in almost every supermarket where the Latin population is high. For example, here in Miami, you can find it anywhere. Batata is similar to the orange sweet potato that all Americans know.

Ingredients for the White Sweet potato pudding: white sweet potato on a cutting board getting peal, on the left side two milk bottle one with coconut milk and the other one with evaporated milk and in the background a glass bowl with sugar. Recipe at Spoonabilities.com

What is a Batata / White Sweet Potato?

Batatas are white sweet potatoes native to South and Central America.
White sweet potatoes have lighter, golden-colored skin and white flesh. The white interior looks like the starchy russet, while its shape and texture bear a resemblance to the classic sweet potato.
The white sweet potato is something in-between an orange sweet potato and a starchy russet potato.
White sweet potatoes have a dryer texture than an orange sweet potato.
The flavor profile of batatas is similar to the orange sweet potato, but with a milder flavor and bit less sweet.
The white sweet potato does not have as many nutrients as does the orange sweet potato, but it is still a healthier option than regular potatoes.
Batatas provide an excellent source of nutrients such as protein, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin E, and folic acid. Additionally, they contain dietary fiber, potassium, copper, manganese, and iron, and are low in fat and cholesterol.
The white sweet potato can be used to cook sweet or savory dishes. You can cook the white sweet potato the same way you usually cook the orange sweet potato, such as roasted, baked, grilled, or mashed.

Jalea de batata Dulce or white Sweet potato pudding is a Dominican Dessert served during Easter week. recipe at Spoonabilities.com

What is Jalea?

Jalea is like pudding. Jalea is rich, made with milk, and starch is used to give the custardy texture. The white sweet potato provides delicious flavor and starch. For the Jalea de Batata Dulce, I use evaporated milk and coconut milk, but you can use any milk. If you want to go all vegan, eliminate the evaporated milk and use any nut milk, and instead of using brown butter, use any vegan butter.

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How to make Jalea de Batata Dulce / White Sweet Potato Pudding

Peel the white sweet potatoes and cut in 2- or 3-inches pieces. Place the batata pieces in a medium saucepan with two sticks of cinnamon and one teaspoon of sea salt. Boil for about 10-14 minutes or until they are tender.

Batata in a wooden cutting board getting peel and cut. Spoonabilities.com

Put the boiled batata into a blender and add enough coconut milk to get it blended. Work in batches.

Blender jar with White sweet potato & milk mixture before been blended. Spoonabilities.com

Blender jar with White sweet potato & milk mixture blended. Spoonabilities.com

Add the blended white sweet potato-coconut milk mixture into a large saucepan with the rest of the coconut milk if you have any left, and the evaporated milk.

Batata blended with coconut milk and evaporated milk in a cooper saucepan before cooking it on the stove. Recipe at Spoonabilities.com

Add the sugar, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground cardamom, nutmeg and raisins.

White sweet potato and milk mixture in the pot with ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamon, sugar & raisins. Jalea de Batata Dulce Recipe at Spoonabilities.com

Then add the Salted Honey Brown Butter. You can add the butter now or at the end. It doesn’t matter.

White sweet potato and milk mixture in the pot with ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamon, sugar, raisins & brown butter. Recipe at Spoonabilities.com

Cook the jalea mixture until you get a thick consistency like a yogurt, stirring constantly to avoid sticking to the pan. Or use the traditional method of checking the back of a wooden spoon if you can make a line with your finger.

White sweet potato pudding in the pot after been cooked on the stove. Ready to be served. Jalea de Batata Dulce recipe at Spoonabilities.com

Serve in small individual dishes or a large serving bowl. Garnish with toasted coconut flakes and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Jalea de Batata Dulce in a dessert glass bowl garnished with toasted coconut flakes & nutmeg. Recipe at Spoonabilities.com

Should you Buy Brown Butter or Make your own?

You can certainly use regular butter or make homemade brown butter. But, the addition of the salted honey brown butter adds another layer of toasted flavor that is heavenly. I’m totally addicted to Black & Bolyard’s different varieties of brown butter. Honestly, this has been a game-changer in my kitchen. I have even been caught licking the butter off the spoon. Their flavor profiles are wonderful, and it’s so much easier to open one of their shelf-stable jars than make my own brown butter.

Table presentation with 6 dessert glass bowl with Jalea de Batata Dulce on top of a wooden table. The front glass bowl is on top of a small napkin with a couple of cinnamon stick and toasted coconut flakes near by. See recipe at Spoonabilities.com

I’m trying to come up with an accurate description of the Jalea de Batata Dulce flavor profile, and I cannot find the right words. It has a silky texture; sweet but not overly sweet; flavored with warm spices; and has a touch of crunchiness with the toasted coconut. Geoffrey is a bit more indulgent, adding a drizzle of maple syrup and even more of a crunch by adding some homemade coconut-nut granola that I made recently. The coconut-nut granola recipe will be out next week. Wait for this incredible recipe using all the half-full jars of different nuts and seeds that were left behind for several months in my pantry. Like our motto says, No Jars Left Behind in our pantry, so this was the perfect recipe to use them all up.

Be Safe, and stay healthy! If you make this recipe, share your comments or photos below or in social media tagging @Spoonabilities on Instagram and other platforms and using the hashtag #Spoonabilities.

I am sending you a lot of positive vibes!

Carlos Leo
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Jalea de Batata Dulce | Dominican Dessert Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 11 reviews

Author: Carlos Leo
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 16 1x

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Description

Jalea de Batata Dulce is a traditional Dominican dessert served during Easter week. This creamy pudding-like dessert is made using white sweet potato, coconut milk, evaporated milk, warm spices, raisins & salted honey brown butter. I garnish this white sweet potato pudding with toasted coconut flakes and a sprinkle of nutmeg. This creamy dessert is quick and easy.

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Ingredients

Units Scale

2 lbs. of batatas or white sweet potatoes, boiled soft with a cinnamon stick + salt
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon sea salt
5 cups coconut milk
3 cups evaporated milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground clove
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
½ cup raisins
3 Tablespoons Salted Honey Brown Butter
¼ cup of toasted coconut flakes (optional) - garnish

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Instructions

Peel and cut the batata (sweet potatoes) and boil in water with two stick of cinnamon, for about 10+ minutes until the sweet potato is soft
Blend together sweet potatoes, coconut milk, and evaporate milk until there are no lumps. Blend it in batches.
Pour the sweet potato milk mixture into a medium saucepan and add the sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, nutmeg and raisins.
Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan. NOTE: It can get sticky very quickly. Once it has thickened to a yogurt-like consistency, taste it and add more sugar if needed, and then add the brown butter. Once fully combined, remove from the heat.
Pour into a large bowl and/or in small serving bowls and let cool to room temperature. Then chill in the refrigerator until time to serve.
Serve with a sprinkle of nutmeg and coconut flakes on top.

Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 25
Category: dessert
Cuisine: Dominican Republic