Sweet Potato Cake
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This sweet potato cake is one of my favorite fall cake recipes. It is moist, filled with warm spices, and frosted with a sweet and creamy maple-infused homemade frosting. You will want to make this sweet potato dessert over and over again.
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While I love the classic sweet potato casserole, this cake and sweet potato pie always reign in my eyes. Now if you want to step out of the box, try my sweet potato cheesecake or sweet potato bars . Both are big hits at Thanksgiving.
Sweet potatoes are fantastic for baking as they will help add moisture to the cake mixture.
Reasons You Will Love This Sweet Potato Cake
- Easy—This cake is easy to make. There are no layers, just a simple pan, and minimal ingredients.
- Flavorful—I love slicing up a cake that is full of flavor and out of the box different. This dessert has both.
- Crowd-approved—If you are in charge of making a dessert, try this cake for a stunning flavor!
Ingredients Needed
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all ingredients and quantities.
- Baking Powder: This is the leavening agent for the cake. It will help it rise and become fluffy as it bakes.
- Spices: Ground cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg are used for adding warmth and depth to the cake.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar is going to help sweeten the cake but allow it to bake up nice and golden in color. The Brown Sugar adds molasses that helps with moisture and provides a caramel color and richness.
- Oil: You need oil to help it to add moisture into the cake batter. This will help offer that soft and fluffy texture.
- Eggs: Use large eggs for this recipe. The eggs are needed to be the binder of all the ingredients.
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes: I like to use fresh sweet potatoes that I peel, slice into 1/2 inch slices, boil until tender, drain and mash. You can use canned sweet potatoes for this.
- Maple Syrup: Get a hint of maple into the frosting by using real maple syrup.
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Substitutions and Variations
- Cake flour can be used in replace of an all purpose flour. It will make the cake a bit lighter.
- Swap the sweet potato puree with pumpkin puree for a twist. Or do half sweet potato and half pumpkin.
- You can use mashed winter squash like my favorite, buttercup squash, instead of sweet potatoes. The squash is creamy, not overly wet, and sweet.
- Swap the spices with a pumpkin pie spice or you can pick whatever mix of spices you would like.
- Add in 2 ounces of softened cream cheese to frosting to make it a cream cheese glaze.
- Add in some coconut flakes into the glaze or even sprinkle on top of the glaze for a nice chewy texture.
NOTE: This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations
Prepare the Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Peel the fresh sweet potatoes. Slice the sweet potatoes in 1/2″ – 1″ slices and in cut each slice into 4 pieces.
Place the sweet potatoes into a medium saucepan and cover completely with water. Place over medium heat and let cook until fork tender.
Drain the water fully. Mash the sweet potatoes with a potato masher until smooth. Let cool completely before adding to the sweet potato cake.
How to Make Sweet Potato Cake
Step 1: In a bowl you will add your dry ingredients in it and mix well. This is the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.
Step 2: Then in a mixing bowl or stand mixer whip up the sugars and oil. Mix to combine. Work in the eggs and vanilla and mix till fully combined.
Step 3: Then you will add in your mashed sweet potatoes. Mix until smooth.
Step 4: Now you will work in the dry ingredients a little at a time until it is fully combined. I used a hand mixer on low for this.
Step 5: Pour into a prepared pan and bake as directed. Then allow the cake to cool.
Step 6: In a bowl you will add ingredients for the frosting. Mix on low to medium and beat until it is nice and smooth. Once the cake is cooled frost, and then top with chopped nuts.
Tips for Best Results
- When baking this cake it is always good to use room temperature ingredients so all the ingredients blend together and help create a smoother batter.
- Ensure that you do not overmix the cake batter, as it can make the cake heavy and dense once baked.
- Allow the sweet potato cake to fully cool before you add on the glaze. Otherwise the glaze will melt into the cake.
- If you find you have clumps in your powdered sugar, run it through a sifter.
- Lining your cake with parchment paper first will help make it easy to remove the cake from the pan.
How to Store and Freeze
Store the cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or at room temperature for up to 2 days.
You can also freeze the cake for 3 months. Wrap the completely cooled cake without the frosting in two layers of tightly wrapped plastic wrap and an additional layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil. You can also place it in a freezer-safe container with the frosting on it.
To thaw, place on the counter for about 2 hours or in the fridge overnight.
Recipe FAQs
Yes you may. Just reach for plain sweet potatoes in a can, with no added seasonings or sugar. Then drain off liquid, then mash.
Yes! I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why there would be an issue.
Yes, but the bake time will be shorter than when being baked in a 9×9-inch baking pan because the cake will be thinner.
You’ll need 1 to 2 sweet potatoes depending on the size of your sweet potatoes.
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Sweet Potato Cake
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Ingredients
Cake
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil or canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato about 1 large, peeled, boiled, mashed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons butter room temperature
- 1 tablespoon real maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×9-inch pan with parchment paper and clip binder clips on the sides of the pan to hold the parchment paper in place. Lightly spray the parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Whisk until combined and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the brown sugar, white sugar, and oil. Whisk until combined.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Whisk until the eggs are incorporated.
- Add the mashed sweet potato and whisk until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients. Using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat together for 1 minute
- Pour into the prepared pan and spread out evenly.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
- Remove the cake from oven and let cool to room temperature.
- While cake is cooling, work on the icing.
Icing
- Add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract into a medium bowl. Beat using the hand mixer on low until most of the powdered sugar is worked into the icing.
- Turn the mixer to medium and continue to beat until the icing is smooth.
- Using an angled spatula, evenly spread over the cooled cake and top with the chopped pecans.
Notes
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
