Name: How to Make Viral Sweet Potato Crème Brûlée (Japanese-Style Recipe)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 4 sweet potatoes (preferably beni haruka for a smooth, naturally sweet texture); 250g milk (for the custard); 25g granulated sugar (for the custard); 5g vanilla bean paste or substitute with vanilla extract (for the custard); 16g Dolce flour or cake flour (for the custard); 2 egg yolks (for the custard); 25g granulated sugar (for the custard); 15g Cassonade (French brown sugar for caramelization)

How to Make Viral Sweet Potato Crème Brûlée (Japanese-Style Recipe)

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Japan is home to many delicious sweet potato-based treats, especially during the colder seasons. Today, I’ll introduce one that has taken the internet by storm: sweet potato crème brûlée. As the name suggests, this dessert is a fusion of sweet potato and classic crème brûlée and the combination is surprisingly harmonious!

Crème brûlée, meaning "burnt cream" in French, is a classic dessert known for its rich custard base and crisp caramelized sugar topping. While its exact origins are uncertain, it became widely recognized in France in the 18th century. Today, it’s beloved worldwide and is a staple in French restaurants, patisseries, and even homemade desserts.

Recently, specialty sweet potato shops have been popping up across Japan, offering carefully selected varieties that are hard to find in regular grocery stores. These shops often showcase sweet potatoes in their simplest form—baked to perfection to highlight their natural sweetness—while also creating eye-catching, innovative desserts like sweet potato crème brûlée. If you’re interested in trying the traditional yaki imo (baked Japanese sweet potato), check out this guide on how to make yaki imo.

While it may be difficult to find these specialty sweet potatoes at your local supermarket, there are still plenty of high-quality varieties readily available in Japan. Satsumaimo or Japanese sweet potatoes generally fall into two main categories:

Moist and smooth varieties: Such as beni haruka, silk sweet, and annouimo (which I’m using in this recipe).
Fluffy and flaky varieties: Like beni azuma, which was once popular but has been overshadowed by the first type in recent years.

For sweet potato crème brûlée, I highly recommend using a moist and smooth variety, as its creamy texture blends beautifully with the velvety custard.

While regular granulated sugar works fine for the topping, I prefer Cassonade, a French brown sugar with fine crystals and a subtle caramel-like flavor. When caramelized, it enhances the natural sweetness of the sweet potato and creates a beautifully crisp, flavorful topping.

Achieving that signature caramelized top requires a few key techniques:

Evenly spread the sugar: A thick layer won’t melt uniformly, so be sure to distribute it evenly.
Keep the torch moving: Don’t hold the flame in one spot for too long. Move it constantly to achieve a perfectly amber-colored crust without burning the sugar.
Use high heat: This helps caramelize the sugar without further cooking the custard underneath.

Though it may seem a bit tricky, each step is simple and the reward is a beautifully crafted sweet potato crème brûlée! Give it a try at home, and let us know in the comments how yours turned out. Enjoy!

Instructions

1) Gather the Ingredients

This time, I chose Beni Haruka sweet potatoes, known for their smooth, silky texture and natural sweetness.

You can substitute vanilla bean paste with a vanilla bean pod or vanilla oil.

For the brûlée, I recommend using Cassonade for the best caramelization.

2) Bake the Sweet Potatoes

It's no exaggeration to say that the longer you bake sweet potatoes, the tastier and sweeter they become. I set my oven to the automatic sweet potato baking mode.

You can also check out our previous article on how to make baked sweet potatoes.

Expert's Tip

A cast iron yakiimo pot ensures perfectly roasted sweet potatoes with deep, natural sweetness. Made from high-quality Nambu iron, it retains heat for even baking and caramelization. Ideal for yaki imo and versatile enough for dishes like sweet potato crème brûlée, it's a must-have for sweet potato lovers.

3) Make the Custard

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While baking the sweet potatoes, prepare the custard. In a bowl, add the egg yolks and 25g of sugar, then whisk them together until well combined. Add the vanilla bean paste and mix again. Next, add the sifted flour and mix about 10 times—overmixing can cause a sticky texture.

In a small pot, heat the milk over medium heat, adding another 25g of sugar and gently stirring. Once it comes to a boil, turn off the heat and add half of the milk to the egg mixture, stirring well to combine. Transfer the egg and milk mixture back to the pot and gently stir.

Heat it over high heat, stirring swiftly to prevent burning at the bottom. As it thickens, continue stirring to prevent lumps from forming until the custard becomes evenly smooth and shiny.

4) Cool the Custard

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Once the custard is ready, transfer it to a shallow tray and cool it over ice. Once it reaches room temperature, cover and refrigerate until fully chilled. Cool quickly to prevent bacteria growth.

5) Smooth the Custard

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Transfer the custard to a bowl and use a handheld electric mixer on the lowest setting to loosen it until it becomes evenly smooth.

If you prefer, you can transfer the custard to a pastry bag for easier and more precise filling of the sweet potatoes.

6) Combine the Sweet Potatoes with Custard

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Take a grilled sweet potato and make a cut in the center. Gently open it and fill the inside with the custard cream.

7) Caramelize the Sugar

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Place the sweet potatoes on a direct-heat-resistant tray and sprinkle a thin, even layer
of Cassonade over the top. Use a torch to caramelize the sugar lightly. Then,
sprinkle another layer of Cassonade in the same way and torch again until it’s well
caramelized.

8) Serve and Enjoy!

Savor the perfect fusion of creamy custard, caramelized sugar, and naturally sweet baked potatoes!

Megumi Moriya

Megumi is a recipe writer based in Chiba, Japan. She carries a Bachelor in the Faculty of Foreign Studies and is interested in creating content about Japanese cuisine and traditional confectioneries. Megumi is most interested in making Japanese recipe content, and in her free time, she likes to play the piano, make handcrafted goods, and hula dance. She hopes to inspire Japanese Taste readers to make Japanese recipes at home and of course share more about Japanese culture.

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