Name: Sweet Potato Pone
Yield: Makes 9 to 12 squares.
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon brandy or rum; ¾ cup sugar; ¼ pound (1 stick) butter; ¼ cup molasses or cane syrup; 2 cups grated raw, peeled sweet potatoes (1–2 potatoes); ¼ cup water; 2 lemons; ½ cup brown sugar; rind of 1 orange, grated; 1 lemon; ½ cup fresh orange juice; 4 eggs, beaten; ½ teaspoon each nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon

Preparation info

Makes
9 to 12
squares.

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

I Hear America Cooking

By Betty Fussell

Published 1986

About

It was Sir John Hawkins who brought the patates douces, as the Picayune calls them, to England in 1564. By the century following, sweet potato puddings and pies were as common on English tables as lemon creams. The Country Housewife and Lady’s Director (1727–32) gives a pair of recipes for sweet potato pudding that, except for the orange flower water, might appear in today’s collection of prize-winning recipes at a Yambilee.