Sweet Potato Casserole

Add this to your menu for Thanksgiving.  In the Penzey's catalog it is described as dessert AND a vegetable serving.  Thanksgiving is wonderful, isn't it?  We talked some today about sweet potatoes being made sweet or savory.  I like them both ways and cannot figure out how it took me 40 years to figure out that I like them.

3 medium sweet potatoes (1.5lbs or so)
1/2 C. cream (half and half works fine as well)
1/2 C. light brown sugar, packed
1/2 C. white sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1-2 tsp. vanilla
1-2 tbsp. all purpose flour
1/2 C. butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten

Topping
1/2 C. all purpose flour
1 C. chopped pecans
1 C. light brown sugar, packed
5 tbsp. butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Poke a few holes in the sweet potatoes with a fork.  Bake for 1 hour or until fork tender.  Remove from the oven and let cool.  Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.  Cut open the sweet potatoes and scrape the insides into a large bowl.  Mash the potatoes.  Add the cream and mix thoroughly until creamy.  Add the brown and white sugar and mix well.  Add in the spices, flour and melted butter and mix well.  Add the eggs and mix again.  Spoon the mixture evenly into a 9x9 inch pan.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine all of the topping ingredients.  Stir until crumbly.  Spoon the topping mixture evenly on top of the sweet potato mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until topping is bubbling and brown, let cool for at least 10 minutes and serve.