Yes, these are dessert latkes. No, don’t leave this site immediately! These are really good, I swear! Dessert latkes are a thing. Have you ever had a chocolate-covered potato chip? Salty and crunchy chips with the contrast of the sweet creamy chocolate. It just works, right? That’s basically what we have here. You can use russet potatoes, my favorite starchy spud for the ultimate crispy latke, but I went with sweet potatoes to enhance the dessert factor. And I added rainbow sprinkles because who doesn’t need rainbow sprinkles in their life right now?
Here’s my secret for crispy sweet potato latkes (though this works for any latke of your choice): potato starch. The reason russets make such great latkes is because they are starchy. Sweet potatoes are less starchy, so I added that back in with potato starch. The result? Latkes that are crispy outside and soft inside, which is exactly what we want.
Pro tip: Try a little potato starch on the outside of chicken next time you sauté it for an extra crisp factor. It won’t make it breaded, but it adds a slightly crispier coating. People will wonder how you did it!
Crispy Sweet Potato Dessert Latkes
Prep time: 20 minutes. Cook time: 15 minutes. Makes: 10-12 latkes.
Ingredients
- For latkes:
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes (to get 5 cups shredded)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons potato starch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup canola oil (or other oil for frying)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- For chocolate ganache:
- 4 ounces dark, milk or semisweet chocolate
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Rainbow sprinkles (optional)
Directions
- First, make the ganache. Break up the chocolate into small pieces and put in a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat just until it comes to a light simmer. Do not bring to a boil. Carefully pour the cream over the chocolate and wait 1-2 minutes to let the cream melt the chocolate before stirring until smooth.
- Now, latke time. Start by peeling your potatoes one at a time and shredding them with the large holes of a box grater, or using a food processor.
- Dry the potatoes very well with cheesecloth or a towel, squeezing out as much moisture as possible.
- Place them in a large bowl and add the eggs, potato starch and salt and mix to combine.
- Set up a cooling rack over paper towels.
- Heat up the canola oil in a large pan. Don’t use non-stick; cast iron or steel work great.
- Scoop heaping ¼ cup spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the pan and flatten slightly. They should sizzle when the oil is ready! Fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Do not overcrowd the pan.
- Drain on the rack and blot off any excess oil and then sprinkle with brown sugar.
- Drizzle ganache over one side of the latke. Decorate with rainbow sprinkles, chopped nuts or flaky sea salt—whatever you like!
Amy Kritzer Becker is the founder of the modern Jewish cooking blog What Jew Wanna Eat, co-owner of the cool Jewish gifts website ModernTribe and author of the cookbook “Sweet Noshings.”
