sweet potatoes **(ideally japanese satsumaimo variety)**
steps
Preheat oven to 450 F with convection on
Wash sweet potatoes, making sure to remove any grime on the skin, and then dry thoroughly
Place potatoes directly on oven rack once preheated, with a tray on the next rack down to catch any drippings
Bake for 40-80 minutes, depending on the size and shape of the potatoes
When done, the skin should feel hardened, and separated from the flesh, creating a hollow sound when tapped
Once the sweet potatoes have reached the desired doneness, take them out of the oven and let them cool completely on a wire rack
Once cooled completely, pack them in a freezer safe bag and freeze for at least 4 hours
To eat, take a sweet potato out of the freezer, and thaw for 5-10 minutes. This should result in an ice cream like texture.
notes
The skin is a very tasty part of the frozen sweet potato **(and provides a nice package to hold it when eating on the go)**, so make sure to really scrub any dirt off of it so that you can eat it.
Unlike most instances of cooking potatoes, you specifically don't want to poke holes in the potato prior to cooking for this recipe. The steaming effect, and subsequent separation of the skin from the flesh is important to the texture of the final product.
Different sweet potato types have different sugar content, stachiness, and flavor profiles. This recipe works best with lower starch content potatoes, which is why the japanese satsumaimo variety **(reddish purple skin, pale yellow flesh)** work so well.
The ideal potato shape for cooking as well as ease of consumption is long and slender. The more popsicle-like, the better.
Try to avoid sprouting potatoes, since sprouting consumes sugar
The first few times I made these, I tended to take them out a little prematurely. You want the skin to be hollow sounding and rigid, and they should give off a dark caramel aroma when cooked enough.
These work very well as a healthy dessert. They obviously aren't as sweet as ice cream, but they have a creamy and subtle flavor which is very satisfying. If you want a little more sweetness, I've found that sprinkling some brown sugar on them works well.