NIK SHARMA’S SWEET POTATO BEBINCA

This flanlike sweet is easy to make and keep well. Jaggery is an unrefined brown sugar frequently used in India; it can be found at international supermarkets online. I used muscovado sugar.

2-3 large sweet potatoes (about

1 1/4 pound total) 6 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for greasing the baking pan

6 large eggs

1 cup jaggery or muscovado

sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon freshly grated

nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 (13 1/2-ounce) can full-fat

coconut milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse sweet potatoes to remove any dirt, pat dry with paper towels, and poke several holes in them with a fork for the steam to escape. Put potatoes in a baking dish or baking sheet. Roast until completely tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool completely before handling.

Peel the sweet potatoes, discard skins, and puree the flesh in a food processor. Measure out 1 ⅔ cups of the puree and set aside, saving the rest for another use. (The sweet potatoes may be roasted 1 day ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Line the bottom of a 9-inch round baking pan with 2-inch sides with parchment paper and grease lightly with butter. (This works better if you take the paper out of the pan lay it flat on the counter.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the sweet potato puree, the 6 tablespoons butter, eggs, jaggery or muscovado sugar, maple syrup, nutmeg, turmeric and salt until smooth. Add coconut milk and flour and whisk until the mixture is smooth, with no visible streaks of flour.

Pour batter into greased baking pan, place pan on a large baking sheet, and bake for one hour, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. The pudding should be firm to the touch in the center and light golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, and preferably overnight, to set.

Once the bebinca has set, run a sharp knife around the sides of the pan and flip the pan onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. If necessary, tap gently to release. Peel parchment off top. Invert onto a serving dish, and peel off second sheet of parchment. Slice into wedges and serve. Store leftover bebinca, wrapped in plastic wrap, in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. Makes: 8 servings

— Adapted from “Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food” by Nik Sharma (Chronicle Books, $35) Per serving: 477 calories (percent of calories from fat, 45), 8 grams protein, 59 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 24 grams fat ( 17 grams saturated), 182 milligrams cholesterol, 214 milligrams sodium.

Nik Sharma includes his grandmother’s recipe for Sweet Potato Bebinca, a flan-like Goan pudding, in his rapturously received new cookbook, “Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food” (Chronicle Books, $35).