The pale, mildly golden jersey sweet potato creates a sophisticated alternative to traditional holiday fare. This Sweet Potato Soufflé is topped with nutty, buttery, pecans that create a harmonious blend of tradition, flavor, and celebration that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser!
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Ingredients for Sweet Potato Souffle
The Soufflé
- White Jersey sweet potato or the Hannah Yam
- Sugar – granulated white
- Salt – I prefer ancient mined, like Redmond Real Salt for the extra minerals
- Eggs – standard large
- Butter - softened
- Heavy Cream – full fat such as Darigold 40% fat
- Vanilla - pure
The Pecan Topping
- Brown sugar – light or dark
- Flour – all purpose, I prefer unbleached.
- Pecans -roughly chopped
- Butter – melted
How To Make this Sweet Potato Soufflé Recipe
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C bake 3 medium large white flesh yams until sugars begin to caramelize on pan, about 2 hours (2 jumbo). Remove, let cool. Skins will wrinkle as they cool. Peel skins off and weigh out 900g of yams. These can be baked a day ahead.
Step 2
In a food processor, add yams, sugar, salt, eggs, butter, heavy cream, and vanilla, and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into a baking dish greased with butter.
Step 3
Prepare the topping: In a bowl add brown sugar, flour, chopped pecans, melted butter. Blend with your hands, using your fingertips to fully integrate. Sprinkle evenly on top of the soufflé.
Step 4
Bake for 45 minutes on 350°F/180°C until puffed on top and golden brown.
Helpful Tips for Choosing a Sweet Potato
So why do I call it a sweet potato soufflé when we are using a yam? The orange sweet potato has been traditionally mislabeled an orange yam, and the white jersey sweet potato has been called a yam. Grocers often use the terms "yam" and "sweet potato" interchangeably. Here is what you are looking for, either of these will do.
Jersey White Flesh “Yam” Sweet Potato a.k.a. Yellow Sweet Potato
This variety is an "old-fashioned" sweet potato with a golden yellow skin at harvest time which fades to buff or tan after storage. The flesh color ranges from creamy white to bright yellow with an occasional pink variegation. It has a dry, meaty flesh that is exceptionally sweet and creamy and retains its form when baked.
Hannah Sweet Potato
Color: Light brown skin, white flesh.
Flavor: Sweet.
Texture: Dense, firm, creamy.
Best uses: Roasting, mashing.
White-fleshed, when cooked, these sweet potatoes have a slight flakiness akin to a regular potato. Hannahs are dense, firm, and creamy, and much less prone to becoming waterlogged than orange sweet potatoes. Their firmness and dense texture make Hannah sweet potatoes ideal for this Soufflé. a.k.a. Hannah Yam.
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Other Sides
EQUIPMENT
- Food Processor
- Small bowl for topping
- Small knife to peel baked yams
- Spatula to scrape out food processor
- 9” square porcelain baked dish
- 9”X13” bake dish for a doubled batch
History of Soufflé
Although this sweet potato soufflé is not traditional in the way we think about soufflé, here is a fun historical look at the beginnings of soufflé.
The earliest mention of the soufflé is attributed to the French master cook Vincent La Chapelle in the early eighteenth century. However, the development and popularization of the soufflé is usually traced to the French chef Marie-Antoine Carême in the early nineteenth century.
The soufflé earns its name from the French word soufflé, to puff. Later perfected by Carême who, in cooking for the newly rich in Paris, was aided by updated ovens that were heated by air drafts rather than coal. This technological shift played a pivotal role in the ascent of the soufflé, contributing to its perfection and widespread acclaim.
Sweet Potato Soufflé
Equipment
- Food Processor
- small bowl for topping
- small knife to peel baked yams
- spatula to scraped out food processor
- 9” square porcelain bake dish
- 9”X13” bake dish for a doubled batch
Ingredients
The Soufflé
- 4 cups white jersey yam baked (900g)
- ¼ cup sugar 59g
- ½ teaspoon salt 3g
- 2 eggs large (100g)
- 4 tbs butter softened (45g)
- ½ cup heavy cream 110g Darigold 40%
- 1 teaspoon vanilla 4g
The Topping
- ⅓ c brown sugar 65g
- ¼ c flour 40g
- ¾ c pecans 90g, roughly chopped
- ¼ c melted butter 56g
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C bake 3 medium large white flesh yams until sugars begin to caramelize on pan, about 2 hours (2 jumbo). Remove, let cool. Skins will wrinkle as they cool. Peel skins off and weigh out 900g of yams. These can be baked a day ahead.
- In a food processor, add yams, sugar, salt, eggs, butter, heavy cream, and vanilla, blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into a baking dish greased with butter.
- Prepare the topping: In a bowl add brown sugar, flour, chopped pecans, melted butter. Blend with your hands, using your fingertips to fully integrate. Sprinkle evenly on top of the soufflé.
- Bake for 45 minutes on 350°F/180°C until puffed on top and golden brown.
Notes
- To double: Use the weight measurement to quickly scale up your recipe for a 9x 13 bake dish.
- Yams can be baked ahead the day before and stored in the refrigerator.
- Soufflé can be prepared 1-2 days ahead and baked on the day of serving.
Nutrition
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