My Take on a Polynesian Dessert—Purple Yam Rolls with Coconut Cream Glaze

Okay, due to popular demand, today's blog entry is about a recipe. Yes, I'm going to share with everyone this delicious recipe I just made the other day. Drum roll, please! It's my newly invented yam rolls with coconut milk sauce. First of all, having lived in Hawaii for almost six years (my past is filled with adventures, yes), I've learned to appreciate and enjoy some Polynesian delicacies. One of my favorites is the pane po po, soft rolls drenched in coconut sauce. It's something to die for, well, at least it is for me.

So, my wife recently brought home some purple yam (I have no idea what to really call it, so purple yam it is), and I decided to be inventive and do something with it—I baked rolls with it, kinda like a sweet potato rolls, but with purple yam. The result was soft, fluffy rolls. Then, the creative that I am, I decided to kick things up a notch and glaze them with a thick layer or coconut cream sauce, and it was literally food for the gods. So, without much ado, here's the recipe.

Mix 1/4 cup of warm water with 2.5 tsp of instant yeast.
Preheat oven to 400 F.

Boil/scald the following over medium heat:
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1.5 tsp salt
5 tbs butter

Mash the following:
Boiled purple yam; you'll only need 2 cups of the mashed yam.

Now mix the following until smooth:
The scalded milk mixture
The mash yam
1 tsp lemon juice
1 egg slightly beaten

In a mixing bowl (I use a Kitchen Aid mixing bowl with a dough hook), knead in the following until they form an elastic, smooth, and moist dough:
The yam/milk concoction
5 cups bread flour
The yeast mixture

Cover and let proof for about an hour, or until double its size. Then punch down and form into rolls and place them onto a greased cookie sheet. This recipe should yield 30 rolls. Now, I use baking paper instead of greasing the pan for easy cleaning, and it is also quite the professional way of doing things. Anyway, leave the rolls covered and proof until they double their size again. Then plop them into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes.

Once the rolls are cooked, leave them out to cool, and while they are cooling, do the following:
Mix one can of coconut milk, 2/3 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbs flour in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until it boils. Remove from heat.

Transfer your rolls into a Pyrex baking pan (I use a 9 x 13 in. pan) and pour the coconut cream all over the rolls. Let the whole thing cool for a few minutes. To keep the rolls fresh, just cover and seal the pan with Saran wrap (cling film). So there, delicious rolls with very little effort.

Enjoy, and let me know if this recipe works for you. Comment below :) Until next time, have a great week!