This is a perfect side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other holiday or festive meal. The sweet potatoes give it a sweetish taste which connects nicely with the nutty flavor of the pecans. Definitely a crowd pleaser.

Preparation time: 30 minutes (plus 25 minutes baking)

What you need:

Filling:

½ stick (4 tbsp/60g) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for buttering the baking dish (do not substitute with margarine or similar)

3-4 large sweet potatoes (about 2lb/800g), peeled and cubed 

½ cup (100ml) milk

¼ cup (50g) brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon mixed pumpkin spice (you can substitute with ½ teaspoon cinnamon)

½ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

Topping:

½ cup (70g) wheat flour

½ cup (100g) brown sugar, packed

½ stick (4 tbsp/60g) unsalted butter, melted (do not substitute with margarine or similar)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup (120g) chopped pecans

You’ll need a 2quart (8×8 inches/20×20 cm) baking dish, a little bigger is also fine.

How to do it:

For the sweet potatoes:

Add the peeled and cubed sweet potatoes to a large pot of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and cool. Mash the sweet potatoes.

For the filling:

Preheat the oven to 350F/200C. Butter the baking dish.

Put butter, mashed sweet potatoes, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, pumpkin spice/cinnamon, salt and eggs in a large bowl and whisk together. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.

For the topping:

Combine with your hands the flour, brown sugar, butter and salt in a medium bowl until moist and the mixture clumps together. Stir in the pecans and knead them into the dough so you get crumbles.

Spread the mixture on top of the sweet potatoes in an even layer. Bake until mostly set in the center and golden on top, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Enjoy!