So, I got this idea stuck in my head the other week – wanted to try making some Haitian desserts. Saw a picture somewhere, looked really good, totally different from the usual stuff I bake. Figured, why not give it a shot?
Finding What to Make
First thing, I went online looking for recipes. Typed in “haitian dessert recipes” and wow, quite a few options popped up. Lots of talk about Pain Patate, which is like a sweet potato bread pudding thing, and something called Dous Makos, looked like a fudge. There were others too, but these two seemed like the big ones everyone mentioned.
The tricky part was, different sites had slightly different ways of making the same thing. Some used this, some used that. I just kinda picked the recipes that seemed the most straightforward and had ingredients I thought I could actually find.
Tackling Pain Patate First
I decided to start with the Pain Patate. Sounded interesting. The ingredient list looked okay at first glance:
- Sweet potatoes (the white kind, apparently, not the orange yams)
- Coconut milk
- Evaporated milk
- Bananas (ripe ones)
- Brown sugar
- Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg
- Vanilla extract
- A bit of ginger and lime zest
Finding the white sweet potatoes took a couple of store visits, but I managed it. Grabbed everything else. Back home, I washed and peeled those potatoes. Then came the grating. Seriously, grating about four pounds of sweet potatoes by hand? It was an arm workout! My food processor probably could’ve helped, but the recipe I followed said grating by hand gives a better texture. So, I stuck with it.
Once that mountain of grated potato was ready, I mashed the ripe bananas into it. Then I mixed in the coconut milk, evaporated milk, brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla, and all those lovely spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, a pinch of salt, grated ginger, lime zest. The smell in the kitchen was already amazing, like tropical holidays.
Poured the whole thick mixture into a greased baking pan. The recipe said bake at 350°F (about 175°C) for… well, it said about 1.5 to 2 hours. Mine took closer to the full two hours. You gotta wait till it’s firm and a knife comes out clean. Patience is key here.
The Taste Test
Let me tell you, waiting for it to cool down slightly was torture. But when I finally cut a piece? Oh yeah. It was dense, moist, sweet but not too sweet, with all those spices and the coconut flavor. Really unique texture, not quite cake, not quite pudding. It was rustic, comforting. Definitely worth the grating effort. Shared some with the neighbors, they were pretty impressed too.
Quick Go at Dous Makos
Since the Pain Patate went well, a few days later I tried the Dous Makos. This one seemed simpler, basically a layered milk fudge. It involved carefully heating sugar and evaporated milk, adding vanilla, layering different colored mixtures (traditionally). Mine wasn’t perfectly layered like the pictures, gotta be honest. Getting that fudge consistency right took some watching. It was very, very sweet, rich. A tiny piece goes a long way. Different vibe from the Pain Patate, but still interesting to try.
Final Thoughts
Overall, diving into Haitian desserts was fun. The Pain Patate was the star for me, despite the grating marathon. It felt like I actually made something substantial and traditional. It’s a good reminder that sometimes the best flavors come from simple ingredients put together with a bit of effort. Definitely gonna make that Pain Patate again sometime.
