Spiced Sweet Potato Cake Recipe
A warmly spiced, cozy cake with the perfect tender crumb! A generous lid of vanilla cream cheese frosting seals the deal.
Ingredients
For the sweet potato cake:
- 2 cups mashed cooked orange sweet potatoes 2 medium sweet potatoes; 456 grams
- 1 cup vegetable oil or canola oil, or your favorite neutral oil [can use coconut oil or melted butter]
- 1 cup granulated sugar 215g
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 113g
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 5g
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 280g
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 6g
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 12g
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger 4g
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 1g
- 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt 7g
For the vanilla cream cheese frosting:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened; 1/2 cup; 113g
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened; 226g
- 1/8 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar 460g
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 10g
Instructions
Make the cake
- First, bake the sweet potatoes. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Scrub your sweet potatoes and dry them. Rub with olive oil and prick each one 2-3 times with a fork. Bake until soft, 30-40 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
- Reduce the oven heat to 350°F. Spray an 8x8 cake pan with non-stick spray or rub with butter or vegetable oil.
- Peel cooled sweet potatoes and add them to a large mixing bowl. Use a potato masher to mash them until smooth. You should have about 2 cups worth of mashed sweet potatoes potatoes, or 456 grams. I just make sure I have about a pound of cooked sweet potatoes I'm adding.
- Add the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk together until smooth.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.
- Pour the dry ingredients over the wet. Use a whisk to mix the ingredients together, switching to a spatula once the mixture is too thick. Mix just until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40-50 minutes.
- Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
Make the frosting
- Place butter, cream cheese, and salt into a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix the ingredients together until smooth and a little fluffy. Sift the powdered sugar in. Mix on low speed, increasing to medium as the powdered sugar gets mixed in, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add the vanilla. Mix it in with the hand mixer, continuing to scrape down the sides as needed.
- Top the cooled cake with frosting and spread evenly with an offset spatula or butter knife.
- Serve immediately or store in the fridge for 3-4 days. Because of the cream cheese frosting, this cake should be stored in the refrigerator.
Notes
* Cooking time is for both the cake and the sweet potatoes.