Sweet Potato Funnel Cake with Maple Cranberry Puree

Directions

1. Setting Up the Grill & Smoking the Sweet Potatoes

   Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 400°F, set up for indirect cooking with the diffuser plate installed. I’m cooking with hickory pellets today. Fill an A-MAZE-N Tube Smoker with pellets, set it on the main cooking grate a little away from the flame so it doesn’t pick up too much color, and light it with a torch. Let it burn for about thirty seconds, then blow out the flame so it smolders and fills the chamber with smoke.

   

2. Rub a little oil onto a sheet pan, lay down parchment (the oil helps it stick), and put a little more oil on the parchment. Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise and rub oil over them. Place them cut side down on the pan. That cut surface is where you get texture and caramelization, and since the skins are going away, I want all the flavor I can get from that browned side. At 400°F this is really a smoke roast, and the tube gives us extra smoke aroma and flavor. Cook until the potatoes are very squishy and tender, about 45 to 60 minutes. Mine were nearly there at 40. Pull them and let them cool enough to handle.

   

3. Once the potatoes are out, drop the grill temperature to 150°F. We’ll use it later to hold the funnel cakes warm.

4. Making the Whipped Cream Cheese

   While the potatoes roast, make the whipped cream cheese. Add the powdered sugar, cornstarch, and room temperature cream cheese to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Any stand mixer works. Start slowly until everything comes together, then bring it up to medium-high. The sugar and cornstarch stabilize the cream cheese while the whisk works air into it.

   

5. About a minute in, add a pinch of the Noble Saltworks mesquite smoked salt so it starts to dissolve. That’s a little extra smoke in the topping. At around two minutes, stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer to low and pour in the heavy cream a little at a time. Then turn it back up to medium-high for about a minute, until you have stiff peaks. You’re basically combining whipped cream with whipped cream cheese, which gives you more structure and more air. Transfer it to a piping bag (a squeeze bottle works too) and chill for at least 45 minutes.

   

6. Cooking the Maple Cranberry Puree

   Zest the orange on a microplane first, then juice it. Grate the fresh ginger on the same microplane. Strip the thyme leaves from the woody stems by pinching the leaves and pulling down. The tender tops can go in, but the woody stem is not something you want to chew. Quantities here aren’t fussy, so use all the juice from a large navel orange and keep a little water nearby for thinning.

   

7. Combine the cranberries, maple syrup, orange juice, and ginger in a large skillet or Dutch oven. I’m using fresh cranberries. If you use frozen, expect more juice and plan to cook them down a bit longer. Bring it to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. I put a lid on for the first part to trap heat and get the berries popping. Once they start to burst, take the lid off and smash them with the back of a spatula to release their pectin. That’s what turns the mixture into a jelly. Add a splash of water to thin it to the consistency you like, and season with a little more of the mesquite smoked salt.

   

8. Take it off the heat, then stir in the thyme leaves and orange zest. These are delicate and don’t need to cook. The leftover heat wakes up their oils and brings out their aroma. At this point it’s great chunky, but for squeeze bottle service I blend it smooth with an immersion blender. You can refrigerate it, but I’m happy serving it slightly warm.

   

9. Making the Sweet Potato Puree

   Scoop the flesh out of the cooled sweet potatoes, leaving the skins behind, and keep the crusty caramelized bits. Break the flesh up in a quart-sized container and blend with an immersion blender. This puree is much thicker than the cranberry, so it takes more manual work. Add as little water or milk as you can, just enough to make it smooth. Two potatoes make far more puree than this recipe needs, and that’s a good thing. Keep the extra in the refrigerator and spread it on toast or stir it into salad dressings, soups, or smoothies.

   

10. Mixing the Funnel Cake Batter

    Whisk the self-rising flour and pumpkin pie spice together in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk ⅓ cup of the sweet potato puree with the milk, egg, Noble Saltworks smoked maple sugar, and a pinch of the mesquite smoked salt (about ¼ teaspoon). Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the wet, and whisk until the flour is picked up.

    

11. The batter needs to be pourable, and at first it will be stiff. Thin it with a little milk or water until it flows. Transfer it to a squeeze bottle with a wide tip. It’s much easier than handling a funnel over hot oil.

12. Frying the Funnel Cakes

    Fill a Lodge 8" skillet about half full with neutral oil and heat it to 400°F. Use an oil that handles high heat. Squeeze the batter into the oil, making a couple of circles about 4 to 6 inches across, then zig-zag back and forth inside the circle. Fry for 45 to 60 seconds, until golden brown. Carefully flip with tongs and fry the other side for 30 to 45 seconds. Each one takes less than two minutes.

    

13. Lift the funnel cake out, let the excess oil drip, and set it on a cooling rack over a sheet pan. Slide the pan into the grill, which is holding at 150°F with the smoke tube still going, so the funnel cakes stay warm and pick up a little more smoke. Repeat with the remaining batter. I got six good-sized funnel cakes from this batch, and some turned out prettier than others.

    

14. Building the Funnel Cakes

    Put a funnel cake on a plate and dust it with powdered sugar through a sieve. I go with a ridiculous amount, because it’s a funnel cake. Drizzle on the warm cranberry puree, then pipe on the whipped cream cheese. If you want it to stay put, a little dab of the cream cheese under the funnel cake glues it to the plate.

    

15. Don’t worry if one looks a little gnarly. Once it’s buried in powdered sugar, cranberry, and cream cheese, nobody can tell. You get smoky, earthy sweet potato, tart-sweet cranberry, and rich, creamy, sweet cream cheese in the same bite. Serve it warm.