Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2

Using a fork, poke the sweet potatoes and place them on a foil covered sheet pan. Bake for an hour and 15 minutes. (The original recipe states to bake it for an hour but it took me 15 more minutes. Keep an eye on it after an hour.)

Step 3

Take it out of the oven and let it cool for 20 minutes. Do not turn the oven off.

Step 4

Using the 1 tablespoon of butter, generously grease an oven-proof casserole dish (I used an 8X11 pyrex but 9X13 would also work). Set aside.

Step 5

Peel the sweet potatoes and place the flesh into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (you can also use a hand mixer).

Step 6

Add the rest of the butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, milk, and salt in the bowl. Mix until they are all combined.

Step 7

Place the mixture into the buttered baking dish.

Step 8

Mix together pecans, brown sugar, flour, and 1/2 stick butter in a small bowl.

Step 9

Spoon the pecan topping over the sweet potato mixture evenly making sure to cover the top fully.

Step 10

Bake it in the oven for 40 minutes. Let it cool down for 10 minutes before serving.