I Yam What I Yam

On Sunday afternoon, I had an urge to make a cake. I flicked through my Rachel Allen’s ‘Bake’ and spotted a recipe for Sweet Potato and Pecan Bread. Aha! I thought – there’s a large sweet potato in the fridge, and some Christmas walnuts and hazelnuts in the dish in the lounge. I was right about the SP [‘yams’ as my US friends call them] but wrong about the nuts. The dish was empty!

Somebody else must have eaten them on Saturday evening whilst I was concentrating on the Borgen subtitles and scarves! But I used some almonds from the jar in the pantry.

Sweet Potato and Pecan Bread [Serves 12]
Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 150ml (¼ pint) vegetable oil
• 200g (7oz) soft light brown sugar
• 300g (11oz) sweet potato, peeled and grated
• 100g (3½oz) pecans, chopped
• 180g (6½ oz) self-raising flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ tsp mixed spice

13 x 23cm (5 x9in) loaf tin

1. Preheat the oven to 150ºC (300ºF), Gas mark 2. Line the loaf tin with parchment paper.
2. Beat the eggs in a large bowl, then add the oil, sugar, grated sweet potato and chopped pecans. Sift in the dry ingredients and bring the mixture together using a wooden or metal spoon.
3. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, smooth the surface and bake in the oven for 1-1 ¼ hours or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
4. Allow to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes before removing. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

Note: You can use walnuts instead of pecans, if you like, or add raisins or other dried fruit.  I think I should have lowered the temp slightly- the top cracked!