Sweet Potato Casserole Stuffed Into Orange Cups

Baked sweet potato casserole filling spooned into hollowed orange halves and topped with a cinnamon pecan crumble. A retro holiday side in individual portions.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword sweet potato casserole stuffed into orange cups

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1 10

Servings filled orange halves

Ingredients

For the Orange Cups

4 large navel oranges thick skinned

For the Filling

3 medium sweet potatoes about 2 pounds
4 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
⅓ cup light brown sugar packed
3 tablespoon fresh orange juice from the scooped oranges
2 tablespoon heavy cream or half and half
1 large egg beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Cinnamon Pecan Topping

¾ cup pecans chopped
¼ cup light brown sugar packed
2 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt

Instructions

Bake the Sweet Potatoes

Heat the oven to 400F. Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork and bake directly on the rack for 50 to 60 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance.
Split them open, let the steam escape for 5 minutes, then scoop the flesh into a bowl and discard the skins.

Hollow the Oranges

Cut each orange in half across its equator, not through the stem end, so you have eight wide shallow bowls.
Run a paring knife around the inside of each half where the fruit meets the pith, then cut across the segments twice. Slide a spoon under the fruit and lift it out in one piece.
Squeeze the scooped fruit through a strainer to collect 3 tablespoons of juice. Shave the thinnest slice off the bottom of each shell so it sits level, without cutting through the peel.

Make the Filling and Topping

Mash the warm sweet potato flesh by hand until smooth, avoiding a food processor. Beat in the softened butter, then the brown sugar, orange juice, egg, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon.
Add the cream 1 tablespoon at a time, stopping when the filling drops slowly off a spoon and still holds a soft shape.
Stir the chopped pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together, then pour the melted butter over and toss until the mixture clumps.

Fill and Bake

Heat the oven to 350F. Pack the orange shells snugly into a baking dish or sit each one in the well of a standard muffin tin so they cannot tip.
Spoon the filling into the shells, mounding it softly and keeping it inside the rim of the peel. Scatter the pecan topping evenly over the tops and press it lightly into the filling.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the topping is toasted and the filling holds a spoon mark. Rest 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Bake, never boil: boiled sweet potatoes absorb water and the filling will not hold a mound.
Cut across the equator: it gives wide shallow cups that are easy to fill and easy to eat from.
Steady the cups: a muffin tin holds them perfectly level and stops any tipping.
Do not overfill: keep the filling inside the rim, since it puffs as it bakes.
Make ahead: fill the cups up to 24 hours ahead, keep the topping dry and separate, and add 10 minutes to the bake.
The shell is not eaten: it is the vessel and the flavor source.