Cherry and chocolate peanut-butter sundae

1. Prepare the braai or grill. Cook the sweet potatoes directly on the coals, turning often, for about 25 minutes, until charred and cooked through. Remove from heat, chop roughly, place in a blender with 1 cup milk and purée until smooth.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, sugar, spices and salt. In a separate bowl, mix sweet potato purée with the water, butter, vanilla essence, warm milk and buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a metal spoon until a soft dough forms. Cover with a tea towel and set aside to rise in a warm place for 40–45 minutes, until almost doubled in size.
3. Punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Gently roll out the dough to a thickness of 2 cm. Cut out rounds using a cookie cutter or a glass tumbler, and gently fashion holes in the centre. Place the doughnuts on a flour-dusted baking sheet, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise again for about 15 minutes.
4. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat – if you have a candy thermometer, keep the oil at about 165–180°C. Deep-fry the doughnuts in batches for 2 minutes, turning continuously to ensure they cook evenly and all the way through. Drain on kitchen paper and dust with caster sugar.
5. To make the caramel, heat the duck fat in a saucepan, and stir in the sugar until melted and slightly caramelised. Stir in the cream and whisk gently until the caramel is smooth and slightly thickened. Drizzle over the doughnuts and sprinkle with salt – or use the caramel as a decadent dipping sauce. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Find more sweet potato recipes here.
Food assistant: Lerato Motau
Videographer: Romy Wilson
Photographer: Shavan Rahim
Production: Amy Ebedes-Murray