Having recently devoured one of my favourite recipe books of local cooking, 'Cass Abrahams Cooks Cape Malay', I am back on a road to experimenting with dishes which form part of our country's rich culinary history.

If you like traditional cooking in general and deliciously spicy foods in particular then you really should treat yourself to a copy of this book.

It is now in its third edition and makes for wonderful reading, both from a historic point of view and the overview it has of the foods inspired by Malay slaves brought to the tip of Africa by the Dutch from India, Malaya and Indonesia.

And thanks to them we have superb dishes such as denningvleis, sosaties, bobotie, samoosas, breyani, sweet yellow rice, gesmoorde snoek and many others.

Today's dessert is a classic example of Cape Malay cooking and it lives on in the kitchens of the Cape, so next time you are looking for a dessert with a difference try this one — you won't be sorry.

If nothing else, the look on the faces of your guests when you tell them they are having sweet potato for dessert will be worth it!

To serve 4-6 portions of sweet potato and coconut pudding you need:

Ingredients:

Instructions:

Melt butter in a saucepan and add cinnamon and cardamom pods.

Add sweet potatoes in layers, sprinkling sugar over each layer.

Turn down heat, close saucepan with a tightly-fitting lid and allow to steam over low heat for 30-40 minutes.

Try not to add water unless potatoes and sugar start burning, then add only a little at a time.

Stir in the coconut when the sweet potatoes are soft.

Garnish with cherries and mint leaves or shredded coconut and serve with custard.