This sweet potato casserole with brulee praline topping is the perfect dessert for the holidays. The best part about desserts like this is it's customizable to your style of entertaining.
Ingredients
Ingredients for Sweet Potato
Casserole
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed
- 7 Tbsp unsalted butter, diced
- 3/4 tsp coarse salt
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 + 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup pecans, chopped
- 1 1/2 heavy cream
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 8 egg yolks
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
Items You'll Need
Instructions
Instructions for Sweet Potato Casserole
- Combine sweet potatoes, 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, 1/4 tsp salt and 2 Tbsp water in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap.
- Microwave the bowl for 8 minutes and then prepare the pecan topping for later.
- Heat 1 Tbsp water and the sugar in a small pan. Stir just until the sugar completely dissolves.
- Pulse the pecans in a food processor a few times and add them to the pan.
- Stir well to combine and add 2 Tbsp unsalted butter.
- Spread the mixture out on some parchment paper and let it dry.
- Remove the sweet potatoes from the microwave, stir well and microwave them for another 5 minutes.
- Lightly spread some butter over the surface the baking pans of your choice.
- Sprinkle some granulated sugar over the butter and shake it around to coat well.
- Remove the sweet potatoes from the microwave and drain off any excess water.
- Pour the bowl into a food processor or high speed blender. Add 3 Tbsp unsalted butter and 1/4 tsp salt.
- Puree the mixture until smooth.
- Pour the heavy cream, dark brown sugar, 1/3 cup granulated sugar into a sauce pan on a burner set to medium-low.
- Stir until the sugar is dissolved, and turn off the burner. Remove about 3/4 cup of the mixture.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and slowly drizzle in the hot cream while constantly whisking.
- Add the egg/cream mixture back into the pan, drizzling it in while constantly whisking again.
- Next, add the sweet potato puree to the pan. Smash it out a little and add vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp coarse salt, cinnamon, ginger and fresh nutmeg. Whisk until smooth.
- Place your baking dishes in a larger pan, then pour the mixture into your sugar-coated baking dishes. Level the tops using a spatula or spoon.
- Place the pans into an oven preheated to 325°F. Carefully add hot water to the bottom pan until it's about half way up the sides of the casserole dishes.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes until they're just set. Carefully remove and allow them to cool completely, which should take 3-4 hours.
- After they've cooled, spread out the pecan topping thinly over each dish. Followed by an even coating of sugar (2:1 mixture of brown & granulated sugar). Smooth it out with the back of a spoon, lightly packing it.
- Brulee the topping with an electric torch or the broiler of your oven. Next, let the topping harden for about 5 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!