Sweet Potato Spice Cake
A fall spice cake made with sweet potato and frosted with vanilla bean cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
Spice cake:
- 1 (240 grams) large sweet potato
- 3 cups (360 grams) cake flour (360 grams)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 large eggs
- 2 cups (430 grams) packed light or dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (140 grams) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup (284 grams) whole milk
Cream cheese buttercream:
- 10 ounces (285 grams) cream cheese , at room temperature
- ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter , at room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons milk or cream
- Pecans or candied pecans , chopped (optional garnish)
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Prick the sweet potato with a fork, and bake for approximately 1 hour, or until the potato is soft. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Peel off skin and remove any dark spots. Put into a food processor and puree until smooth or mash with a vegetable masher. Measure one cup of puree for this recipe.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Grease two 8 or 9-inch cake pans lined with parchment paper on the bottoms.
- In a bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves. and salt and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and mix on medium high speed until light and creamy, 2-3 minutes. Add the sweet potato puree and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each.
- Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the milk, ending with the flour mixture. Mix until just combined.
- Pour into the prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs, about 30-40 minutes (time varies based on which size cake pan you use). Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the buttercream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment add the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Mix on low until combined, then increase speed to high and beat until light and creamy, 2-3 minutes.
To assemble the cake:
- Optional: Split cake layers in half, making 4 cake layers total (This step only works for 8-inch cake, 9-inch cakes will be too thin).
- Stack the layers of cake on a cake stand or plate, spreading approximately 1 cup frosting in between each layer. Top with remaining frosting.
- Chill until ready to serve. This cake should be stored in the fridge and consumed within a few days.
Notes
- The frosting recipe makes enough frosting to fill and cover 2 cake layers, but if you split the 2 layers to make 4 total, you may only have enough frosting to fill and top the cake (but not enough to cover the sides). If you'd like to cover the entire 4-layer cake with frosting, consider doubling the recipe.
Calories: 684kcal, Carbohydrates: 104g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 27g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Cholesterol: 138mg, Sodium: 232mg, Potassium: 336mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 78g, Vitamin A: 2467IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 164mg, Iron: 1mg
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