Watershed Restaurant Sweet Potato Casserole

Submitted by The Mad Slovak

"From the Watershed Restaurant (Decatur, GA) recipe page. I saw a food program on TV recently that showed their executive sous-chef making this. It looked so good I decided that I might just include it in my Thanksgiving menu, but so as not to use my dinner guests as guinea pigs, I made it the other day to evaluate. It's going on the menu! Yummy!"

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 30mins
• Ingredients: 19
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• THE FILLING

• 5 lbs small sweet potatoes (about 10 potatoes)
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 3⁄4 teaspoons salt
• 3⁄4 teaspoon ground ceylon cinnamon (or ground cinnamon sticks)
• 3⁄4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1⁄2 cup honey
• 1⁄2 cup light brown sugar
• 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar (white)
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups milk, heated
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened (to grease the baking dish)

• THE TOPPING

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons homemade baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground ceylon cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon stick
• 1⁄2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut up
• 1 cup chopped pecans

directions

1. TO MAKE:

2. Wash the sweet potatoes and put them on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet.
3. Bake in preheated 350F oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until they are very tender.
4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool briefly before peeling.
5. Put the peeled sweet potatoes into the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with beaters or a whip attachment.
6. Mix the hot sweet potatoes on low speed to begin mashing them.
7. Add the butter and mix until it is absorbed.
8. Add the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, and both sugars and mix until they are thoroughly blended.
9. Add the lightly beaten eggs and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
10. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add in the heated milk.
11. When the milk is incorporated, taste carefully for seasoning and add more salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, or sugar as needed.
12. Thoroughly grease a 9x13x2 inch baking dish with the softened butter and pour the sweet potato mixture into it.

13. THE TOPPING:

14. Put the brown sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt into a mixing bowl and mix well.
15. Use your fingers to work the chilled butter into the mixture until it resembles oatmeal with some large pea size pieces of butter in it.
16. Stir in the chopped pecans and mix well.
17. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the sweet potatoes.
18. Bake in a preheated 375F oven for 30 to 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown and crisp and the sweet potatoes are set but still slightly loose in the center.
19. Serve hot.

Reviews

[Niza D.]

I have been making this recipe for years. Didn't even like sweet potatoes until I made this recipe. Every year, my family BEGS me to make this. It gets voted "favorite dish" every year!

 

[Toni C.]

Ive been making this recipe for 15 years. It's always a favorite at my table & picked over desert many times

 

[Chef Jenny C.]

This recipe is fantastic! I don't normally eat sweet potatoes, but my husband is a big fan, so I made this last Thanksgiving, and it was a hit! I'm making it again this year and sharing with co-workers at our holiday lunch. Thanks for posting!