These smooth and delicious individual sweet potato puddings combine brown sugar and spices to make a dessert flavourful enough to follow a holiday dinner. Serve them still warm from the oven in the fall or winter, but don’t restrict this nutritious treat to your cold-weather menus; the homey dish tastes just as delicious served chilled in the spring and summer.

This recipe works with both freshly cooked and mashed sweet potatoes. Top each serving with a dollop of whipped cream or a favourite dessert topping and a light sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.

B-well Baking Spray, for greasing ramekins

5 large eggs

1 1/2 cups cooked sweet potato, mashed or pureed

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1 dash allspice

1 1/4 cups milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Whipped cream, or ice cream, for serving, optional

Cinnamon sugar, optional

Heat the oven to 180C.

Spray 6 to 8 250ml ramekins and place them in a larger baking dish or roasting pan. If you don’t have individual ramekins, you can make the pudding in a 1.5 litre glass or porcelain baking dish coated with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the eggs until blended.

In another bowl, combine the sweet potato, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Beat well and, with the mixer on the lowest speed, gradually add the milk and vanilla; blend well. Add the beaten eggs and blend thoroughly.

Fill the ramekins almost full. Place the pan with the ramekins into the preheated oven and pour about 1 inch of near-boiling water into the pan.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the puddings are set.

Remove the pan from the oven and let the ramekins cool.

Serve the puddings warm, at room temperature, or chilled with whipped cream or ice cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar, if desired.