Sweet potato casserole - velvety smooth, sweet potatoes topped with the most amazing sweet, crunchy, pecan and brown sugar streusel. A must have on the Thanksgiving or holiday table.
3cupspeeledcooked sweet potatoes, from about 3 pounds (about 1.36kg) sweet potatoes (See Note 1)
½cup(99g) granulated sugar
½cup(113g) butter, melted and cooled
½cup(113g) milk
2large eggs
1teaspoonvanilla
½teaspoonsalt
For the streusel topping:
1cup(213g) light brown sugar, packed
½cup(71g) all-purpose flour
1cup(113g) chopped pecans
½cup(113g) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Preheat (or reduce temperature after baking potatoes) oven to 350° F.
For the sweet potato filling:
In a food processor, combine peeled, cooked sweet potatoes, sugar, melted butter, milk, eggs, vanilla, and salt. Puree until very smooth, about 1 minute.
Alternatively, use an electric hand mixer to combine well.
Pour into a greased casserole dish (mine was about 12 by 8-inches) and spread into an even layer.
For the streusel topping:
In a separate bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, and pecans (breaking up brown sugar clumps as needed).
Pour in melted butter and stir until mixture is evenly moistened. Use a gentle hand and mix until everything is moistened and in clumps. Don’t overmix or it will become pasty.
Sprinkle mixture evenly over sweet potato mixture in baking dish.
Bake in the lower third of a 350° F oven for about 30 minutes. The topping should get golden brown. If it starts to get too brown, cover with a piece of foil. The inside temperature of the casserole should reach about 170° F.
Serve warm.
Notes
To cook sweet potatoes:Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash sweet potatoes, then prick in several places with a fork. Wrap each in foil and bake until cooked through and soft, about 60 - 75 minutes.Peel potatoes. The peel should pull right off. Let cool slightly before mixing with eggs.Alternatively you can:• prick the sweet potatoes with a fork and bake on a foil lined baking sheet until soft, about 1 hour• prick the sweet potatoes with a fork and microwave until soft, about 10 minutes• peel and cube the sweet potatoes, then boil in water until tenderTo make an orange scented variation:Add 1-2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest to the sweet potato filling.