After your family and friends have gorged themselves on thick slices of savory turkey and mounds of garlicky mashed potatoes smothered in gravy, the last thing you’ll want to offer is a heavy dessert. Enter the (mostly) healthy, and oh-so-light-and-airy, sweet potato and cacao nib mousse.
This should be made the day (or night) before and refrigerated until ready to serve. You can serve it in a large bowl or in individual, glass pedestal dessert dishes.
Garnishing with cacao nibs adds a slightly bitter, unsweetened dark chocolate flavor to the mousse that helps balance out the mild sweetness of the maple syrup. Alternatively, you can sprinkle a little cinnamon on top instead.
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes (skins removed and roughly chopped), or 4 cups
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 16 ounces of heavy cream (cold)
- 2 teaspoons cacao nibs
Preparation
Put chopped sweet potatoes in a medium-sized saucepan, and cover with cold water. Boil until soft (20-30 minutes), then drain the water.
Place cooked sweet potatoes in a food processor and puree until creamy. Add maple syrup and cinnamon and pulse until completely incorporated. Do this in increments and scrape down the sides as needed.
Scoop puree into a bowl, cover loosely, and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours or until cold.
While the sweet potato puree is chilling, use a handheld electric mixer and beat heavy cream on medium-high speed until medium peaks begin to form (3-4 minutes).
Gently fold whipped cream into sweet potato puree.
Right before serving, sprinkle cacao nibs on top.
