Sweet potato gratin

[viaChgo]

I'm making a sweet potato and apple gratin for t-giving and did a test run this past weekend. I layered raw sweet potato slices, seasoned w/s&p, then sliced apples, nutmeg, dotted with butter, and then repeat. I then poured in heavy cream til it god almost to the top layer. I sprinkled grated white cheddar on top, covered with foil & baked at 350 for an hour.

The taste was great. However, it was a bit soupy & the cream looked like it had separated. I was hoping for creamy and thick enough for all the layers to hold together.

Any tips? Too much cream? Should I bake uncovered? Higher heat?

Thanks!

[SheenaGreena]

a sweet potato gratin is a great idea, never would've thought of it. I wonder if you could use layers of sweet potato and butternut squash?

[johnjohn]

I made one last year and the same thing happened to me - nice flavor (add a little chipotle pepper), but it was soupy. I haven't tried it since, but if i was - two thoughts - maybe add a few Idaho potatoes to incorporate some starch into it which would help with the thickening and only cover it for part of the cooking which would allow for some evaporation.

[s_sevilla]

Liquid could be sweating out of the apples during the baking, thats probably why it's a bit soupy.....the sweet potatoes themselves should have enough starch to hold it together. If its far too soupy, I would make a loose bechamel sauce instead of just pouring on the heavy cream. Or reduce down your heavy cream beore pouring it into the pan to account for extra liquid that exudes from the apples during the baking.

[M. Lucia]

Use way less cream, you don't need all that liquid. I would reduce the cream by 1/3 or even half, but still bake it covered so the top doesn't dry out.

[McAuliflower]

Use way less cream, you don't need all that liquid. I would reduce the cream by 1/3 or even half, but still bake it covered so the top doesn't dry out.

←

also- adding a layer of carmelized onions as a base layer is heaven.

[fryguy]

I would use a light-to-medium bechamel instead of the cream, as mentioned upthread. Sweet potatoes aren't starchy enough to thicken all that cream plus the juices from the apples.

[Joisey]

On a past menu, I had a sweet potato-gorgonzola gratin that was out of this world. Personally I don't always trust potatoes to be starchy enough to thicken the sauce, so I go the bechamel route.

[little ms foodie]

I also heat up my cream before adding it, when I do that I don't get the curds that I get when I add it cold.

[viaChgo]

Thanks to everyone for their tips!

I decided to make my gratin the night before & reheat it at the house where we were having Thanksgiving dinner. It turned out great!

here's what I did. I incorporated 2 thin layers of russet potatoes to increase the starch content. I also used less cream & also heated it. I used just enought to moisten everything.

After it came out of the oven, I was a little concerened because it looked like the cream had split and it still looked a bit soupy. However, after it sat in the frig overnight and then was reheated, it was perfect! All the liquid had been absorbed and the layers had firmed up!

It was delicious! A great combo...sweet potatoes & apple.

[russ parsons]

just saw this. i'd run into the same thing: sweet potatoes lack the starch that regular potatoes do, so they won't thicken the cream. the best result i had was from baking the potatoes separately, peeling and slicing them, then moistening them with cream and sprinkling them with gruyere and baking again briefly.