These homemade Spiced Sweet Potato Caramels are packed with flavor from cinnamon, ginger, and allspice. They make a delicious holiday treat or a thoughtful gift!
When I did a Google search for "sweet potato caramels recipe," all I found were a bunch of pages about Morinaga sweet potato caramels, which I happened to have bought when we were in Japan a few years ago.
While they're delicious, they're not the buttery, gooey kind of caramels we're used to in the US. They kind of have the texture of a Starburst with a very mild caramel flavor.
I wanted to use sweet potatoes to make crazy decadent caramels. The kind that make you weak in the knees.
Having never made caramels before, I figured it would take me a few tries to perfect them, but I surprised myself and got them right the first time by using the cooking instructions and proportions from this pumpkin caramel recipe and then tweaking them to my satisfaction.
I debated whether I should add cardamom or chipotle powder to my sweet potato caramels, but I settled on the trio of cinnamon, ginger, and allspice instead because I felt that they would appeal to most palates.
This combination of spices makes these caramels almost taste like sweet potato casserole. (Sweet potato casserole, but better!)
For a Japanese-inspired twist, omit the spices altogether and top the caramels with black sesame seeds instead.
I admit that these sweets are time-consuming and labor intensive to make, but they are so worth it. And they are definitely the kind of caramels that make you swoon a little when you eat them.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter plus more for greasing the baking dish
- 1 small sweet potato pierced with fork
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground ginger
- ⅛ tsp allspice
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 2 cups white sugar (organic for vegan-friendly)
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- pepitas pecans, or sea salt for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with parchment paper. (If you cut a slit in each corner of the paper, lining the sides is easy—for a visual demonstration, check out Lining Pans with Parchment on Good Life Eats.) Lightly grease the paper with butter.
- Place sweet potato on a small baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake until tender, about 35–45 minutes (depending on size and shape of potato). Allow to cool slightly.
- Once potato has cooled, remove the skin and cut into large chunks. Add potato pieces to food processor; process until smooth and no chunks remain. Measure ⅔ cup of the puree; if there's any puree remaining, save it for something else or eat it now. It's delicious!
- Transfer puree to a small saucepan. Stir in cinnamon, ginger, and allspice until well-combined. Stir in heavy cream and heat on medium, continuing to stir. Bring to a simmer and set aside.
- In a heavy 4-quart saucepan, stir together sugar, corn syrup, maple syrup, and water with a wooden spoon and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Use a heat-proof pastry brush dipped in warm water to brush sugar crystals from side of saucepan. Once mixture has come to a boil, place candy thermometer into sugar mixture and continue to cook until temperature reaches 244°F (don't stir it!). Remove from heat.
- Gradually (and carefully!) add cream mixture to sugar mixture, stirring as your pour. The mixture will bubble up at this point, so please be careful and pour the cream in slowly. Return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Continue cooking until mixture reaches 240°F (this could take up to 30 minutes). As temperature rises, begin to stir more frequently.
- Once caramel mixture reaches 240°F, remove saucepan from heat. Stir in butter and and lemon juice until well-combined. Pour into lined baking dish. (If you're topping your caramels with nuts, salt, or pepitas, press them into the top of the caramel after it has cooled for about 15 minutes.) Cool to room temperature before cutting into individual pieces. (I cut them into 36, but make them as big or as small as you like!) Wrap in waxed paper and store in an air tight container or refrigerate.
The Mrs @ Success Along the Weigh says
My jaw hit the floor with this one. Good luck on the contest, I can't imagine there being anything more awesome than that in the running!
The Type A Housewife says
They are so, so good but so, so bad. 🙂 They were my treat for the week and I was only going to have 3, but I had more. *cough* You need to send me some of your self-control. Usually when I make recipes like this, I'm really good at making them & only having one, but these were totally addicting.
Rachel R. says
You are so creative - I loved the presentation in your photo! Good luck with the contest.
The Type A Housewife says
Thank you! I have two other entries that I'll be posting this month, so I'm maximizing my changes (and probably boring everyone with all the sweet potatoes--ha!).
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says
Oh good heavens, those look AMAZING!
The Type A Housewife says
Thank you! They were really, really good. Well, are good--the recipe makes a lot and we still have some left!
Genevieve says
Yum, I would love to try a candy that tastes like sweet potato! Good luck in the contest - I think you definitely deserve points on originality!
The Type A Housewife says
Yeah, either they'll love them or think they're totally bizarre, right? 🙂
Shirley says
These look fancy! I never knew caramels made with sweet potato existed, but I'd totally try one.
The Type A Housewife says
They are really good! And now that I know I can make caramels, I need to start trying some other flavors...
Stephanie @ henry happened says
Yay for you in making something so good/healthy. It counts as a serving of veggies, right? 🙂
The Type A Housewife says
HA! As I bought the ingredients for this, I felt so guilty. But I allow myself one super bad indulgence a week, so caramels were it last week. I figure if I eat healthy the rest of the time, it balances out--at least I hope it does. 🙂
snixykitchen says
These look tasty - I was just eating my homemade caramel sauce by the spoonful...maybe I should make candies:)
The Type A Housewife says
I was thinking about revisiting this recipe in the fall and making it a sauce for some kind of Thanksgiving-y dessert! I think the only difference between a sauce and candies is that you cook the candies longer, right?
snixykitchen says
Looking at your recipe compared to my sauce one, you definitely cook the candies longer and at lower temperatures, My sauce only cooks for, if I had to estimate, 10 minutes before cream and 3 minutes after adding the cream, but at medium high, and the final temperature is somewhere around 320 degrees.
The Type A Housewife says
Yup, that sounds about right. So the caramels are a little more involved time-wise, but they're definitely worth it. 🙂
All Natural Katie says
Yummo! I have never made caramel, but enjoy eating it. I will have to try this recipe.
Question - how long can you store them at room temperature and in the fridge?
The Type A Housewife says
I experimented and kept half in the fridge and half in a Tupperware container in the pantry. We're on Day 4 and the ones in the pantry taste fine, but they're getting a little bit on the melty side (but it could be because of the weather). The ones in the fridge taste and look the same as the day we made them. So my guess is that if you refrigerate them, they'll last at least a week.
CulinarilyCourtney says
This is such a creative recipe! I especially like your addition of a pecan on top of the caramels--now I can enjoy Thanksgiving flavors in one bite!
The Type A Housewife says
Yes, these are definitely perfect for Thanksgiving! 🙂
Julie says
Good luck with the contest!!
If you happen to make any extras, you have my address. 😉 Caramels make me weak in the knees!
The Type A Housewife says
Have you made them before? It's kind of involved, but at the same time, it's easier than I thought it would be. I can't wait to make them again!
Val says
The recipe makes me nervous (I would totally screw these up!) but these look heavenly!!! I know you're gonna win too. I was just talking about wanting a patio this year and had to explain to my BF what a pati was. Apparently they're all "decks" to him. 🙂
The Type A Housewife says
Have you made caramels before? They are so, so worth the effort. Oh man. If they weren't so bad for you, I would make them every weekend.
Val says
Nope- I haven't made them (YET!). I LOVE caramel though... it's one of my favorite sweet flavors for sure!
[email protected] n Dishes says
I make caramels almost every Christmas to give as gifts and every one loves them, but I feel that it's time to change it up! Love this and it's so surprising!
Emma {Emma's Little Kitchen} says
Ooooh, so intrigued by these babies! Perfect halloween fare 🙂