Purple Sweet Potato Filling

One of my favourite flavours ever is sweet potato! There's so many kinds of potato and the purple sweet potato has always intrigued me. It's so deep in colour with an earthy sweetness that can be either sweet or savoury and sweet potato cakes and breads are some of my favourite ways to enjoy sweet potato. 

I made some Japanese milk bread with purple sweet potato filling and they looked pretty but the flavour comes through much better if the filling is in a ball rather than braided through the bread. Either way, it's super delicious and this filling recipe is really easy! 

I'll also be posting the bread recipe in a separate post! This sweet potato filling can be made with orange/yellow sweet potato but the colour of the purple one is the best!! 

Ingredients: 

- 400g raw purple sweet potato (around 3 medium sweet potatoes)

- 25g sugar

- 125ml milk*

- Pinch of salt

Steps: 

1. Steam sweet potato and set aside to cool. This can be easily done in a steamer, rice cooker or even microwave) 

2. Once cooled, peel sweet potato and chop off the ends. No need to be too precise with the skin removal as it will be placed in a food processor. 

3. Place the sweet potato flesh in a food processor, add the salt, sugar and milk and process until a smooth paste is formed.

If you prefer to have some chunks in your sweet potato filling, don't process it as much. 

4. Taste and adjust sweetness. 25g sugar is not much but it complements the earthy sweetness of the potato. Add more sugar if you want it sweeter. 

The texture of the puree also depends on the amount of milk added. Don't add too much as we need a paste to fill the buns. However, if it is too dry the texture won't be good either. Hence, adjust milk required as necessary. 

*whipping cream can be added in place of milk for an even creamier filling.

Enjoy!

Note: this can also be done by hand but it won't be as smooth as using a food processor and will also take a while longer. Simply mash the potatoes by hand and blend with sugar and milk with a fork.