Recipe
Cuban Boniatillo with Milk: A Creamy Spoon Dessert
Creamy boniatillo with white sweet potato, evaporated milk, cinnamon and vanilla. A Cuban spoon dessert to serve cold or warm in bowls.
- Preparation20 min
- Cooking40 min
- Total time3 h 30 min
- Servings6 bowls (about 180 ml each)
- DifficultyEasy
Boniatillo is one of Cuba's most beloved homemade sweets: cheap, scented with cinnamon and made with whatever was available in any kitchen. Every home has its own version, from the classic thick paste to the dry boniatillo in little balls eaten by hand.
This Cuban boniatillo with milk takes a different path: the white sweet potato puree is cooked over low heat with evaporated milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla until it becomes a spoonable cream, smooth and silky, served in individual bowls, cold or warm. It is the perfect dessert for a family Sunday or an afternoon snack, and in the United States you can make it with sweet potato from a Latin market and a 12-fluid-ounce (354 ml) can of evaporated milk.
Ingredients
Check off the ingredients you have.
To cook the sweet potato
For the cream
To serve
Method
- Peel the sweet potato, removing the skin well and any fibrous or spotted parts. Cut into pieces about 3–4 cm (1½ in) long and weigh 800 g. Place them in a bowl with cold water as you cut to prevent darkening.
- Drain the pieces, place them in a thick-bottomed saucepan of about 3 liters (3 qt) capacity and cover with cold water about 3 cm (1 in) above. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to medium and cook for 15–20 minutes, until a knife enters and exits without resistance.
- Before draining, reserve 240 ml (1 cup) of the cooking water. Drain the sweet potato in a colander and let it sit there for 3–5 minutes to release steam and moisture; this prevents the puree from becoming watery.
Image generated with AI.CiberCuba - Puree the sweet potato while still hot: pass it through a food mill or mash and push it with a spatula through a fine-mesh sieve. You can also use a food processor, pulsing little by little. It must result in a fine, smooth puree without strings.
Image generated with AI.CiberCuba - Return the puree to the clean saucepan, off the heat. Add the evaporated milk in three additions, whisking between each addition. Then add 120 ml (½ cup) of the reserved water, the sugar, salt and cinnamon stick, and mix until no lumps remain.
Image generated with AI.CiberCuba - Place the saucepan over medium-low heat and cook for 15–20 minutes, stirring almost constantly with the spatula and scraping the bottom and corners well to prevent sticking. When it starts to release large bubbles, reduce the heat slightly: it can splatter and burn.
- Look for the spoonable cream consistency: it coats the back of a spoon, falls in a thick ribbon, and when you pass the spatula across the bottom, the groove closes in 1–2 seconds. It must not pull away from the saucepan forming a mass: that would already be the path to dry boniatillo.
Image generated with AI.CiberCuba - Turn off the heat, remove the cinnamon stick, and add the vanilla. Remember it thickens as it cools: if it is already very dense when hot, add the reserved water 1 tablespoon (15 ml) at a time until it becomes creamy again.
- Distribute the cream into 6 bowls of about 180 ml (6 oz) each. Cover each bowl with plastic wrap in contact with the surface to prevent a skin from forming and let cool for 30 minutes at room temperature.
- To serve cold, refrigerate for at least 2 hours at 4 °C (40 °F). Before bringing it to the table, sprinkle a little ground cinnamon on top and serve with a small spoon.
Image generated with AI.CiberCuba
