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Camotes poblanos
Sweet potato candies
Puebla's sweet-potato fondant candies flavoured with fruit (camotes de Santa Clara)
Camotes are the sweet Puebla is most famous for: finger-long rolls of sweet-potato fondant, flavoured with pineapple, lemon, strawberry or orange and wrapped individually in paper. Like tortitas de Santa Clara, they come from the city's convent kitchens, and you will find them at every candy shop on Puebla's Calle de los Dulces. The texture is soft and smooth, like a firm marzipan, and very sweet, so one or two is plenty. Chef's tip: sieve the cooked sweet potato while it is hot; fibres caught in the sieve are what would make the candy stringy.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 20
Ingredients
- 14 oz sugar
- ½ cup water
- 3 tbsp pineapple or orange juice
- 1 tsp lemon or orange zestfinely grated
- 3 tbsp icing sugarfor rolling
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Boil 1 ½ lb orange or white sweet potatoes whole, in its skin, for 35–40 minutes, until a knife slides into the centre with no resistance.
40 minStep 2: Peel while hot and push the flesh through a fine sieve. You should have about 500 g of smooth purée.
8 minStep 3: Put 14 oz sugar and ½ cup water in a heavy saucepan and boil over a medium heat for 5 minutes, until it reaches the soft-ball stage (250°F, or a drop forms a soft ball in cold water).
6 minStep 4: Stir in the purée, 3 tbsp pineapple or orange juice and 1 tsp lemon or orange zest. Cook over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for about 15 minutes, until the paste is very thick and pulls away from the sides in one mass. Common mistake: stopping when it merely looks thick; it must leave the pan clean or the candies will stay sticky.
15 minStep 5: Spread on a plate dusted with 3 tbsp icing sugar and leave to cool completely, about 1 hour.
Step 6: Dust your hands with icing sugar and roll pieces of paste into fingers about 8 cm long. Wrap each in baking paper, twisting the ends. Leave to firm overnight at room temperature. They keep for 2 weeks in a tin.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 105 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 26 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does camotes poblanos take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 20 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of orange or white sweet potatoes?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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