Cookbook Club – Friendsgiving

Instead of choosing a cookbook for November, we had a Friendsgiving celebration where everyone brought either a favorite Thanksgiving dish or one they’ve been wanting to try. It was a fun and food-filled way to gather together before the busy holiday season really gets going. Go to my Cookbook Club site to see why I’m so thankful for all of the wonderful people and fantastic food that it has brought into my life. For now – my dish!

I was listening to the Bon Appetit podcast and heard Nik Sharma talking about one of his favorite Thanksgiving dishes – Sweet Potato Bebinca. I had never heard of bebinca, but when he described his take on this Filipino coconut pudding, I was dying to try it. So much so that it overrode my general meh-ness about sweet potatoes when they’re in anything but french fry form.

I roasted sweet potatoes, discarded the skin, and pureed the flesh.

I whisked together the sweet potato puree, melted butter, eggs, sugar, maple syrup, nutmeg, turmeric, and salt.

I added coconut milk and flour and whisked again until smooth.

I lined the bottom of a 9-inch round pan with parchment paper and greased, then poured the batter into the pan.

I placed the pan on a baking sheet and baked at 350 degrees F for an hour, rotating halfway through baking.

After it cooled, I wrapped the pan in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight. When I sliced it for serving, it got a little messy, so I covered it with some decorative whipped cream.

I liked the pudding-cheesecake-y texture of the bebinca, but was less pleased with the flavor. I was hoping the coconut milk would come through stronger. Several people at the party really liked it, but I decided to find something other than this bebinca to make for my Thanksgiving dish. It wasn’t worth the roasting, baking, and chilling time in my opinion.