Excerpted from Horn Barbecue: Recipes and Techniques from a Master of the Art of BBQ by Matt Horn. Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee.
If you celebrate holidays with family, candied yams are likely to make an appearance during a festive meal. This is a toned-down version of this dessertlike dish; some variations add toppings, like chopped pecans and even marshmallows. Serve with turkey, chicken, and a juicy smoked pork butt.
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients:
5 medium-size yams, peeled and cut into ½-inch (1 cm) slices
½ cup (1 stick, or 113 g) salted butter
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60 g) packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C, or gas mark 4).
Arrange the yams in a 9 × 13-inch (23 × 33 cm) baking dish.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger to the butter and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring, until the sugars dissolve.
Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the sugar mixture over the yams to coat. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.
Bake the yams for 30 minutes. Remove the yams from the oven and baste them with the syrup in the pan. Re-cover the pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until caramelized.
Remove the yams from the oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
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This cake is made with a variety of warming spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, and cloves. All of these spices create a flavor profile similar to chai, while enhancing the natural sweetness of the carrots, and bringing out the notes of caramel in the brown butter cream cheese frosting.
