Jamaican · dessert

Sweet Potato Pudding (Hell a Top, Hell a Bottom)

Sweet Potato Pudding (Hell a Top, Hell a Bottom) reads sweetness 7.0, richness 5.8 and fruity 4.3 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Jamaican dessert, about 3 hr 29 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 3.4 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 8.3 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 0.8 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.3 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 6.8 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 3.0 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sweetness 7.0 · Richness 5.8 · Fruity 4.3 · Nutty 3.2 · Salinity 3.2 · Floral 2.8 · Warm Spice 2.2 · Umami 1.9 · Earthy 1.0 · Bitterness 1.0 · Smoke 0.8 · Sourness 0.7

What's in it (15)

• white-fleshed sweet potato — 900 g
• yellow yam — 200 g
• coconut milk — 368 g
• dark brown sugar — 200 g
• all-purpose flour — 100 g
• pimento — 10 g
• ground cinnamon — 5 g
• freshly grated nutmeg — 3 g
• salt — 3 g
• raisins — 150 g
• dark rum — 60 g
• browning and seasoning sauce — 10 g
• vanilla extract — 5 g
• unsalted butter — 60 g
• coconut cream — 230 g

Time & effort: about 3 hr 29 min (1 hr 59 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 144.3 kcal, 1.2 g protein, 7.3 g fat, 23.2 g carbs

Dietary: Vegetarian · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

1. The full name of this pudding in Jamaica is hell a top, hell a bottom and hallelujah in the middle — it was baked in a covered iron dutch pot with hot coals heaped on the lid and set underneath, so the pudding cooked between two fires while the middle stayed soft. The hallelujah is the layer of coconut cream poured over near the end, which sets into a pale custard skin. An oven is the honest modern equivalent and it is what almost every Jamaican kitchen uses now.
2. Grate the sweet potato and yellow yam on the fine side of a box grater, about 20 minutes. White-fleshed Jamaican sweet potato and yellow yam are both at Caribbean groceries; orange American sweet potato is wetter and sweeter and gives a looser, jammier pudding.
3. Mix the grated roots with the coconut milk, brown sugar, flour, pimento, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt for about 6 minutes until there are no dry pockets. The batter is thick and pours slowly.
4. Fold in the raisins, rum, browning, vanilla and melted butter, about 3 minutes. Browning is Jamaican burnt-sugar colouring, sold in bottles; it is what makes the pudding almost black rather than beige, and molasses is not the same thing but is the closest stand-in.
5. Scrape into a buttered 23 cm tin and bake at 175 C for 70 minutes, until the edges have pulled away from the sides and the top has set but the centre still gives.
6. Pour the coconut cream evenly over the top and return the pudding to the oven for a final 20 minutes, until the cream has set into a pale skin over the dark pudding.
7. Cool at least 90 minutes before cutting — hot pudding falls apart and only sets properly as it comes down to room temperature. Cut in squares and serve at room temperature.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Habichuelas con Dulce — Dominican
• Plantain Tarts — Jamaican
• Cornmeal Porridge — Jamaican
• Hummingbird Cake — Southern
• Sanwin Makin (Semolina and Coconut Cake) — Burmese

Keep reading: what sweetness, richness, fruity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.