These Southern candied yams cooked in a flavorful spiced syrup that will provide a wonderful mouth experience and make you savor the flavors. It’s a twist on a classic holiday dish that will make you famous among guests and family.
The sweet potatoes essentially absorb all the sweet, complex goodness of all the ingredients used to make the syrup. Additionally, the sweet potatoes lend its on flavor to the syrup, as the flavor sweats into the syrup when cooked.
"Candied" for me means full-blown dessert potatoes with a sweet silky syrup that didn't separate making the sweetness damn near taboo. Most versions of candied yams I've experienced have been just sweet, but lacking in any complexity. I got a whole lot of sweet and a lot of nutmeg and maybe some cinnamon if it wasn't overpowered by the nutmeg.
When it came time to make my version, “complexity” of flavor was priority number 1. I figured I’d use the Southern baked technique, but combine it with a Mexican style syrup common in the dessert dish “camote enmielado” to get the flavor complexity I was seeking. Camote enmielado consists of sweet potatoes boiled in a syrup infused with spices like cinnamon, star anise, and cloves.
Candied Yams Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes
- Cinnamon Sticks
- Cloves
- Star Anise
- Piloncillo
- Butter
- Whiskey
- Water
How to Make Southern Candied Yams
Step 1: Make the Syrup
Melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Add diced sweet potatoes and saute 2-3 minutes. Add piloncillo, cinnamon stick, cloves, anise, whiskey, and water. In a pot, combine sweet potatoes, 2 cups of water, cinnamon, piloncillo, star anise, clove, whiskey, and salt.
Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer and let cook for about an hour or until sweet potato is very soft and liquid is reduced and thickened. Strain the syrup.
Step 2: Bake the sweet potatoes
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Layer the sweet potatoes in a baking dish or casserole pan. Add ¾ of the syrup, reserving the rest for later use. Mix the sweet potatoes in the syrup using a large slotted spoon making sure all the sweet potatoes are coated with the syrup.
Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake covered 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered another 30 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Serving Suggestions
Top the sweet potatoes with reserved syrup. Add some vanilla ice cream and indulge 100%. These are the perfect dessert to a menu of Southern classics like collard greens, mac and cheese, and fried chicken.
Southern Candied Yams Recipe Notes
By cooking some of the sweet potatoes simultaneously with the syrup you help break down some of the starches into simple sugars which adds more of an intense sweet potato flavor to the syrup and makes it a more unified dish.
Cooking Tips
- I like to double up on sweet potato flavor, so I infuse the syrup with sweet potato flavor and then top the sweet potatoes with the syrup.
- Add a little orange zest to the sweet potatoes before baking to add more flavor.
- Heat the cinnamon, cloves, and anise first to release their flavor and aroma.
- Don’t slice the sweet potatoes too thinly. Strive for ½ inch thickness
- If you don't have access to piloncillo (it's worth the time if you can find it) use brown sugar vs. white as the brown version has some bitterness and more complex flavor with the molasses presence.
- When making the syrup, it’s likely that sweet potatoes will be done cooking before syrup is finished. If so remove the sweet potatoes and continue cooking the syrup down to remove excess water and reduce the syrup to the proper consistency
- Be sure to use adequate amounts of water to completely dissolve the sugar which ensures the syrup won't break down
- Make the syrup ahead of time for all the different flavors to come together
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the difference between yams and sweet potatoes?
Despite the recipe name, there are no yams in the dish. Sweet potatoes are used so whether you hear Southern candid yams or candied sweet potatoes referenced, they’re the same dish. For detailed breakdown on the differences check this article on yams vs. sweet potatoes.
Should I add marshmallows?
Marshmallows are typically included in Southern candied yams recipes, but are not necessary in this recipe. There is more than enough sweetness presence already, adding marshmallows takes this dish from dessert to pure candy.
What is piloncillo?
Piloncillo may be a mystery ingredient to most, but it is the core to making this dish work. If you're unfamiliar it is an unrefined Mexican sugar that is made from cane sugar made from boiling and evaporating cane juice. It's that brown block in the shape of a cone wrapped in plastic you may have seen in the grocery store and wondered what it was.
It puts all sugars - brown, white, molasses, etc. to shame. It is sweet, but not as much as refined sugars and has both smokey and earthy elements like a good dark aged spirit, but also acidic notes that along with the whiskey helps the syrup avoid too sweet territory.
What is the taste profile of Mexican style candied sweet potato?
This candied sweet potato recipe is balanced and complex despite its simplicity. The spice mix ensures a more balanced flavor that is neither too sweet nor overly highlights one flavor note. The cinnamon, piloncillo, cloves, whiskey and star anise all play varying roles in creating the balance and complexity.
The cinnamon introduces a warm, subtle and agreeable sweetness that makes it a perfect contrast to the assertive, licorice-like notes from the star anise which also provides a fresh aftertaste.
Cloves have a stronger pungent flavor so have to be used in smaller quantities, as a little goes a long way.
I read somewhere that it is the alcoholic equivalent of salt in terms of how it brings out the flavor in food. Whiskey, in this dish, helps bring out the sweetness in the cinnamon and piloncillo to contrast the stronger flavors in the anise and cloves.
For other sweet potato based recipes you might like, try these:
Duck Fat Smashed Sweet Potatoes
Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges w/ Yogurt Sauce
Black Rice Salad w/ Roasted Sweet Potatoes
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Ingredients
- 2 large Sweet Potatoes sliced ½ inch thick
- 2 Cinnamon Sticks
- 3 whole Cloves
- 2 whole Star Anise
- 1 medium cone Piloncillo or ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Butter
- ½ oz Whiskey
- 2 cups Water
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
Make the syrup
- Melt butter in a medium sauce pan. While butter melts dice one of the sweet potato slices.
- Add diced sweet potatoes and saute 2-3 minutes.
- Add piloncillo, cinnamon stick, cloves, anise, whiskey, salt, and water.
- Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer and let cook for about an hour or until sweet potato is very soft and liquid is reduced and thickened. Strain the syrup.
Bake the sweet potatoes
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Layer the sweet potatoes in a baking dish or casserole pan.
- Add ½ cup of the syrup, reserving the rest for later use. Mix the sweet potatoes in the syrup using a large slotted spoon making sure all the sweet potatoes are coated with the syrup.
- Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake covered 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered another 30 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Notes
- I like to double up on sweet potato flavor, so I infuse the syrup with sweet potato flavor and then top the sweet potatoes with the syrup.
- Add a little orange zest to the sweet potatoes before baking to add more flavor.
- Heat the cinnamon, cloves, and anise first to release their flavor and aroma.
- Don’t slice the sweet potatoes too thinly. Strive for ½ inch thickness
- If you don't have access to piloncillo (it's worth the time if you can find it) use brown sugar vs. white as the brown version has some bitterness and more complex flavor with the molasses presence.
- When making the syrup, it’s likely that sweet potatoes will be done cooking before syrup is finished. If so remove the sweet potatoes and continue cooking the syrup down to remove excess water and reduce the syrup to the proper consistency
- Be sure to use adequate amounts of water to completely dissolve the sugar which ensures the syrup won't break down
- Make the syrup ahead of time for all the different flavors to come together
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