There is a first time for everything and this past week I tried purple sweet potato for the first time. If you have read my previous posts you’ll be well aware of my love affair with sweet potato. I love making desserts with it and so you can imagine my excitement when I tasted a purple one! They are slightly sweeter than regular sweet potatoes and their purple colour make them really fun especially for a dessert!
I don’t incorporate something into my diet without doing a good amount of research on it first. Nutrition information and recipe options are the top two motivating factors behind my avid googling.
What’s good about purple sweet potatoes?
- They have a low glycemic index rating (GI) (1)
- They are high in antioxidants (almost as high as blueberries) (2)
- They are a great source of vitamin C and fiber (3)
The first thing I thought when I saw these beautiful potatoes was how good they would be in a tart. And I was correct, they make a fantastic tart! So rich in flavour and colour. This tart is vegan, gluten-free, grain-free and sugar-free. It’s baked but I’m pretty sure it can be set in the fridge without baking in the oven since the potatoes are already cooked.
Side note: If you’re wondering where I got the name for this tart from, the word murasaki means purple in Japanese. Say it like moo-rah-sah-kee!
First things first, I peeled the potatoes, chopped them into chunks and then steamed them until soft. While they were cooling, I got on the date puree. I soaked the pitted medjool dates in some hot water until softened then mashed them up to form a puree. This is the only sweetener I used and it pairs wonderfully with the flavour of the sweet potato.
When the sweet potatoes were cool I placed them in a food processor with the coconut cream, tapioca starch, vanilla essence and date puree. Whizzed this until nice and silky smooth!
I used a nut base for this tart that included almond flour (or whole almonds), desiccated coconut, cashews, dates and coconut oil. This all went into the food processor until fine before pressing it into a greased tart dish. If you decide to go for the no-bake version this should set quite well in the fridge.
I spread the sweet potato mixture onto the base and used a spatula to create a fun spiral design.
I put this in the oven for 45 minutes, however it should set quite nicely in the fridge for a no-bake version. Once it was cool I drizzled it with coconut cream and sprinkled with chia seeds for a little crunch.
It tasted even better the next day after being left in the fridge!




- 400 g purple sweet potato
- 1 cup coconut milk/cream
- 1 tbs tapioca starch
- 6 dates soaked and pureed
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 100 g almond flour/almonds
- 50 g desiccated coconut
- 50 g cashews
- 3 pitted medjool dates
- 1 Tbs coconut oil
- Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.
- Peel, chop and steam the sweet potato until soft then leave to cool.
- While the sweet potatoes are steaming, soak the dates in hot water until soft then mash into a puree.
- Place the cooked sweet potatoes, date puree and the remaining tart ingredients into a food processor. Blend until smooth and silky.
- Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until fine.
- Press into a greased tart dish.
- Pour the sweet potato batter onto the the crust and spread evenly.
- Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes.
- Leave to cool before serving. Refrigerate to set the tart even more.
- For a no-bake version, place in the fridge to set for at least 2 hours instead of baking in the oven.