If possible, place the can of coconut milk in the fridge at least 20 minutes up to overnight before you start cooking. Either way, avoid shaking the can. Once it is chilled, gently turn over the coconut milk and open upside down. Pour off the liquid into a saucepan with a lid. Place the creamy coconut topping in the fridge.

Add the chopped sweet potatoes to the liquid coconut milk over medium-high heat. Cover with a lid. As soon as it starts to boil, reduce to a simmer. When the sweet potatoes are tender to the touch, remove the lid and simmer off any excess liquid. If starting with cooked sweet potatoes, leave the lid off the entire time and simmer up until they are heated through and the liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile place a separate skillet over medium heat and sprinkle in the coconut flakes. Shake the pan periodically until you start to see some flakes turn golden. Turn off the heat and shake to evenly toast the coconut flakes, some will be a deeper color then others.

When the sweet potatoes are done, mash them with the coconut oil, extract, salt and half of the toasted coconut flakes.

In a chilled bowl, whip the coconut cream with the maple syrup until fluffy. Serve the sweet potatoes warm with the whipped coconut cream and toasted coconut flakes sprinkled on top.

If using for a savory application, you may want to skip the whipped coconut cream topping— totally optional!

If this is dessert add an extra drizzle of maple syrup to the sweet potatoes until it is your desired sweetness.