Caramel Pecan Sweet Potato Bake

1. Bake Sweet Potatoes

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and bake them for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until they are tender when pierced with a fork. This long baking time allows the natural sugars in the sweet potatoes to caramelize, enhancing their sweetness.

2. Cool Sweet Potatoes

Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and let them cool until they are safe to handle. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

3. Mash Sweet Potatoes

Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough, scoop the flesh into a large mixing bowl. You should have about 4 cups of sweet potato flesh. Use a hand mixer to mash the sweet potatoes until they are smooth.

4. Mix Ingredients

Add 6 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of orange juice, 1/4 cup of heavy cream or whole milk, 3.5 tablespoons of melted butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the mashed sweet potatoes. Mix everything together until the mixture is smooth and creamy. The combination of these ingredients gives the sweet potatoes a rich and flavorful taste.

5. Transfer to Casserole Dish

Transfer the sweet potato mixture into a casserole dish, spreading it out evenly.

6. Prepare Topping

In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons of softened butter, 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar, and 3/4 cup of chopped pecans to create the topping. The softened butter ensures that the topping will be crumbly and will melt into a delicious caramel-like layer as it bakes.

7. Sprinkle Topping

Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly over the sweet potatoes in the casserole dish.

8. Bake Casserole

Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and bubbling.

9. Cool and Serve

Remove the casserole from the oven and let it cool slightly before serving. Serve it hot, and enjoy the delightful combination of creamy sweet potatoes and crunchy caramelized pecans.