Recipe Background
Sweet potato lovers, rejoice! Mami's Sweet Potato Bake is the best kind of sweet potato dish: one that fully embraces the rich, caramel-like flavor of the sunset orange tubers. The potatoes themselves are sweetened with smoky brown sugar and enriched with butter, and then finished with a crunchy, caramelized pecan topping. Mami's Sweet Potato Bake is so good, it could almost be a dessert!
Sweet potato lovers, rejoice! Mami's Sweet Potato Bake is the best kind of sweet potato dish: one that fully embraces the rich, caramel-like flavor of the sunset orange tubers. The potatoes themselves are sweetened with smoky brown sugar and enriched with butter, and then finished with a crunchy, caramelized pecan topping. Mami's Sweet Potato Bake is so good, it could almost be a dessert!
Ingredients
For the casserole:
- 2 pounds sweeet potatoes peeled
- water to taste
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the pecan topping:
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar packed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 2/3 cups pecans halved or chopped
- fresh rosemary or thyme optional, to taste, for garnish
- flaky sea salt optional, to taste, for garnish
Directions
- In a large pot or a Dutch oven, add the sweet potatoes and enough of the water to just cover them.
- Place the pot on the stovetop and bring the water to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the potatoes until they are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Drain the water and allow the sweet potatoes to cool for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the sweet potatoes and using an electric handheld mixer, beat until the potatoes are relatively smooth.
- Add 1/3 cup of the butter, 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, the eggs, the half-and-half, the vanilla, and the salt to the sweet potatoes and beat to combine.
- Spoon the sweet potato mixture into the prepared baking pan.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, the remaining brown sugar, and the cinnamon and whisk to combine.
- Add the remaining melted butter and the pecans to the flour mixture and using a silicone spatula, fold to combine.
- Spoon the pecan topping mixture evenly over the sweet potato mixture in the pan.
- Bake until the topping is golden-brown, about 30-40 minutes.
- Allow the bake to cool for 5 minutes.
- Serve topped with the fresh thyme and the flaky sea salt.
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