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Created by Chef Remy
Tender, spice-kissed sweet potato bread with a crackling praline crown of Louisiana pecans and brown butter, the kind of loaf that disappears before it cools and makes the whole house smell like the holidays came early.
Sweet potatoes and pecans belong together the way Louisiana belongs to good cooking. My grandmother Evangeline grew sweet potatoes in the garden behind her house in Lafayette Parish, and every fall she would bake loaves of this bread for the church social. The women would hover around her table before she could even set the plates down.
The secret is roasting your sweet potatoes until they practically melt. Boiling leaches out flavor and adds water you don't want. A roasted sweet potato concentrates everything good: the natural sugars caramelize, the flesh turns silky, and you get that deep orange color that tells you something real is happening. That's where your flavor starts.
Now the praline topping, that's pure Louisiana indulgence. Butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, and pecans cooked together until it gets thick and glossy. You pour it over the bread while both are still warm, and it sinks into every crack and crevice. The top sets up with that beautiful sheen, almost like candy, but underneath stays soft and syrupy against the tender crumb. At Lagniappe, we served this with chicory coffee on Sunday mornings, and people drove across the city for a slice.
Quantity
2 (about 1 pound total)
Quantity
1/2 cup (1 stick/113g)
melted and cooled
Quantity
1 cup (200g)
Quantity
1/2 cup (110g)
packed
Quantity
2
at room temperature
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1 3/4 cups (220g)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1 1/2 teaspoons
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
freshly grated
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
Quantity
1/3 cup
at room temperature
Quantity
4 tablespoons
Quantity
1/2 cup (110g)
packed
Quantity
3 tablespoons
Quantity
1 cup (120g)
roughly chopped
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
pinch
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| medium sweet potatoes | 2 (about 1 pound total) |
| unsalted butter (for bread)melted and cooled | 1/2 cup (1 stick/113g) |
| granulated sugar | 1 cup (200g) |
| dark brown sugar (for bread)packed | 1/2 cup (110g) |
| large eggsat room temperature | 2 |
| pure vanilla extract (for bread) | 1 teaspoon |
| all-purpose flour | 1 3/4 cups (220g) |
| baking soda | 1 teaspoon |
| baking powder | 1/2 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt (for bread) | 1 teaspoon |
| ground cinnamon | 1 1/2 teaspoons |
| nutmegfreshly grated | 1/2 teaspoon |
| ground allspice | 1/4 teaspoon |
| ground ginger | 1/4 teaspoon |
| buttermilkat room temperature | 1/3 cup |
| unsalted butter (for praline) | 4 tablespoons |
| dark brown sugar (for praline)packed | 1/2 cup (110g) |
| heavy cream | 3 tablespoons |
| pecan halvesroughly chopped | 1 cup (120g) |
| pure vanilla extract (for praline) | 1/2 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt (for praline) | pinch |
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Pierce each sweet potato several times with a fork and place them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast until completely soft and the sugars start to caramelize and leak out, about 45 minutes to an hour depending on size. You'll smell that earthy sweetness filling the kitchen. When a knife slides through with no resistance, they're ready. Let them cool until you can handle them.
Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan generously, then dust with flour, tapping out the excess. You can also line the bottom with parchment for easy release. Set aside while you make the batter.
Scoop the flesh from the cooled sweet potatoes into a bowl. Mash until smooth with a fork or potato masher. You want about 1 1/2 cups of mashed sweet potato. A few small lumps are fine, honest food has texture, but break up any large chunks.
In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and the mashed sweet potato until everything is smooth and that beautiful orange color is uniform throughout.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger. This ensures your spices distribute evenly. That's the bayou way: season in layers, and here we're building the spice layer into the flour itself.
Add half the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir gently with a wooden spoon or spatula. Pour in the buttermilk and stir again. Add the remaining flour mixture and fold until just combined. You should see no dry streaks, but stop the moment they disappear. Overmixing makes tough bread, and we want tender.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until the top is domed and deeply golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. The bread will pull slightly away from the sides of the pan. Start checking at 55 minutes because every oven runs different.
While the bread bakes, combine the butter, brown sugar, and heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly as the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Once it starts to bubble, let it cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and glossy. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped pecans, vanilla, and that pinch of salt. The salt wakes everything up.
When the bread comes out of the oven, let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Rewarm the praline topping gently if it has thickened too much to pour. Spoon the praline over the top of the still-warm bread, spreading it to cover the surface and letting it drip down the sides. The pecans should settle into a beautiful mosaic on top.
Let the bread cool in the pan for another 20 minutes to let the praline set up. Run a knife around the edges and turn out onto a serving board or plate, praline side up. The glaze will be tacky and glossy, the bread moist and fragrant. Slice thick, serve generous. This is Louisiana hospitality on a plate.
1 serving (about 130g)
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