Deep Fried Honey

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Scrub your potatoes clean if you haven’t already and poke holes in them. Use the tip of a knife to score a line all the way around the middle of the sweet potatoes. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for directly on the oven rack and bake until a knife pierces them easily: about an hour.

Allow the potatoes to cool until you can handle them comfortably. Starting from the line you scored around the centers, peel the potatoes and use a pairing knife to remove any eyes or dark spots. Push the potato flesh through a potato ricer into a large mixing bowl along with the beaten eggs, granulated sugar, melted butter, heavy cream, vanilla bean paste, ginger, and nutmeg. Use a hand mixer to whip everything together until well combined and fluffy.

Spray a 8×8″ baking dish with nonstick spray. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and spread into an even layer, then set it aside while you make the crumble.

In another mixing bowl, stir together the flour, pecans, sugar, and cinnamon with a fork. Add the butter and work it into the mixture with the fork or pastry cutter. You could also use your hands, pressing the butter into the flour with your fingertips as if you were making biscuits. Once there’s only a touch of dry flour remaining – if you can get it all incorporated, I’m afraid of you because I never can! – scatter the mixture evenly over the top of the potatoes.

Bake in the 350°F oven for about 45 minutes, until fragrant and the crumble is deeply browned on top. Serve warm!