Sweet Potato Cake is dense and heavy but full of flavor for an extremely moist layer cake that's topped with luscious buttercream and candied pecans this decadent dessert is perfect for fall.
I love this time of year and all the fruits and vegetables that are available. Now if only the weather would cool down to acceptable fall temperatures this year, all would be great! A girl can dream! I know you can get sweet potatoes all year long, but something just seems right about a sweet potato cake close to Thanksgiving.
This cake is dense and heavy but full of flavor and extremely moist. I made my own sweet potato puree. It's super easy and worth the time. All I did was bake a few sweet potatoes, skin on. Then once they are cool from the oven, remove the skins, and put them in the food processor and puree the potato until it is smooth. You probably only need two medium sized potatoes for this recipe. I had no idea when I started and cooked six. You guessed it, there is more sweet potato recipes coming down the pipeline. We were eating sweet potato puree for days. It was a nice treat!
You may be tempted to go to the store and buy a can of sweet potatoes. You could do this, but make sure it isn't the stuff with syrup. Sweet potatoes are already sweet, you don't need syrup. I ended up making the puree because I couldn't find a can of sweet potato puree, and all the cans of sweet potatoes had the syrup.
Ingredients in Sweet Potato Cake
- AP flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Butter
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla bean paste
- Sweet potato puree
- Marshmallow creme
- Confectioners sugar
- Milk
- Pecan halves
How to Make Sweet Potato Layer Cake
- Prepare the cake batter and divide between three round cake pans.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely, then trim the tops until they are even.
- Make the buttercream and frost the cake layers.
- Sprinkle with candied pecans before cutting and serving.
The buttercream is a light and fluffy one. The addition of the marshmallow creme made it a tiny bit sweet. I know you are thinking, how could you tell after 4 cups of powdered sugar... But you can. You could easily decorate this with regular buttercream and use no marshmallow creme if you would prefer. There was enough frosting to decorate the cake traditionally, but I'm still going with the naked cakes. I just like the look, and isn't this recipe really about the cake. So I try to give the cake its moment in the spotlight!
The candied pecans are a great addition for texture. They are easy to make; just be careful with the boiling sugar. If you don't want to candy the pecans, you could just cut them up and sprinkle chopped pecans on top for decoration.
The recipe makes three layers of cake, which is a perfect amount. We thought about turning this into a bundt cake and a few cupcakes but just liked the bites of frosting in the sweet potato layer cake.
Give the recipe a try. I hope you like it as much as we do. If you are looking for other sweet potato cake recipes we whipped up a great bundt cake also for the holidays. Happy Holidays!
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Sweet Potato Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups AP flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ⅓ tablespoons cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter melted and browned, bits included
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups packed light brown sugar
- 6 eggs lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- 22 ounces sweet potato puree fresh not canned sweet potatoes
Buttercream
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter softened
- 14 ounces marshmallow creme
- 4 cups confectioners sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
Candied Pecans
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 cup pecan halves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and lightly flour three 8" round pans. Line with parchment paper.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally until the butter turns bubbly and brown. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine browned butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla bean paste. Stir until combined.
- Add in the dry ingredients in two batches.
- Add the sweet potato puree and mix well.
- Divide the batter evenly into the three round pans.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and remove to wire rack
Buttercream
- In bowl of stand mixer, beat butter and marshmallow creme on medium speed with paddle attachment for about 2 minutes or until creamy.
- Add in confectioners sugar slowly mixing and scraping bowl as needed.
- Add milk and continue mixing on medium speed for 3-5 minutes or until fluffy.
Candied Pecans
- Combine brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, water in a skillet and cook over medium heat for a minute or two, until the sugar dissolves and mixture is bubbling.
- Add the pecans and continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Stirring to coat them with the glaze.
- Remove from heat and spread pecans out onto parchment paper to cool. Break apart once cooled and chop into small pieces.
Cake Assembly
- Once the cakes have cooled, trim the tops so they are even.
- Place one layer onto a serving tray and top with frosting. Place second layer on top and cover with frosting. Place third layer on and cover top and sides with frosting. Sprinkle candied pecans on top.
Notes
Nutrition
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Cindy Ingalls says
This cake looks incredible. I love that it uses such an unexpected ingredient like sweet potatoes. I can only imagine how delicious it tastes, especially with that buttercream icing and candied nuts.
serena says
Thanks so much 🙂
Brittany says
Wow, this looks absolutely delicious. I love to bake and this seems right up my alley. I'm pinning to try later.
serena says
This is so delicious. That frosting with the cake was just perfect.
brianne says
I've never heard of sweet potato cake before but I bet it's super delicious! I never thought to use sweet potato over carrots, but thats brilliant!
serena says
Have to say I really like it. So far I have only tried two different cakes, but looking forward to others
Heather says
This cake looks delicious and I love that it includes sweet potatoes! What a wonderful holiday treat for this week.
serena says
Thanks so much 🙂
Jessica Joachim says
This looks amazing! I love Sweet Potatoes but I have never thought to use them in making a cake! What a fabulous idea! I so have to try this, maybe for my Christmas party
serena says
Give it a try. Please share if you make it.
Reesa says
Yes!! I love this! Sweet potatoes to me are like candy, so perfect for making them into cake. I would love a piece!
serena says
Thanks so much 🙂
Joanna @ Everyday Made Fresh says
I love LOVE love sweet potatoes! I grew up on sweet potatoes, and have never eaten pumpkin anything until I met my husband! This cake is my kind of holiday cake!
serena says
I grew up with pumpkin and only in the last few years have I learned that there is more to a sweet potato than sugary syrup and marshmallows at thanksgiving. I'm loving them now.
Kayla Uimari says
This looks delicious and so well put together! I've been wanting to start baking again and this would be a really fun project!
serena says
It's a super easy cake to make. Please share if you end up making it.
Cas | Getyourholidayon says
I would have never thought to make a sweet potato cake. This looks really good and I bet my hubby would love it!!!
serena says
It's really delicious. And quite simple to make 🙂
AnnMarie John says
This is beyond awesome! I've never tried a sweet potato cake before and I've never made one either. It would be a nice addition to the table though! It looks so good!
serena says
Thanks so much 🙂
Syama says
I love sweet potato, but never made a cake with it ! May be this is the way to convert the sweet potato haters in the family !
serena says
I'd say it's a safe bet 🙂
Rebecca | Let's Eat Cake says
What a fun idea for the holidays! It sound like it would be super moist and delicious - like a carrot cake, but sweet potato!
serena says
Exactly! It's so yummy and moist
Krystal Butherus says
Oh my goodness this sounds so delicious! I've never heard of a sweet potato cake before!
serena says
So delish! I'm loving using the sweet potatoes in the cakes.
Beth says
This looks amazing! i am a huge sweet potato fan! Savory or sweet dishes are perfect with sweet potatoes!
serena says
I'm a huge sweet potato fan. Just like you, both savory or sweet. Thanks so much for checking out the post 🙂
Traci @ The Kitchen Girl says
Oh my word...sweet potato cake with marshmallow frosting? Whoah, wish I was coming to your house for Thanksgiving! Thanks for sharing...such a great idea!
serena says
Thanks so much!
Andrea @ Cooking with Mamma C says
Wow! What a beautiful cake! I never thought of using sweet potatoes in a cake, but that's absolutely brilliant.
serena says
The flavor is so delicious and the layers are quite moist. It's worth a try 🙂
Angela Tolsma says
I like how you mention getting canned but without the syrup. That's my biggest frustration with buying canned goods, is all the extra sugar and it's also why I usually end up making it myself. This cake sounds amazing, I have never had sweet potato baked into a bakery item before.
serena says
I know, it makes me crazy. So much processed stuff in food now a days. Something as simple as a sweet potato should not be packaged in a can with syrup. I will say, it's a pretty delicious cake if you like sweet potato. Definitely worth a try.
Kimberly Lewis says
I need this in my life! What a beautiful cake!
serena says
Thanks so much 🙂
Erica says
A sweet potato cake is such a neat idea. I love sweet potatoes. And I agree that the fresh sweet potatoes are so much better than the canned ones. I loved canned sweet potatoes as a little kid, but can't stand them now.
serena says
Me too! I can remember eating those canned ones as a kid but they are just so unappealing to me as an adult.
robin rue says
I have never had a sweet potato cake before, but it sounds awesome to me. I can't wait to make one for my family.
serena says
This is my first one also. I am hooked and will definitely be putting this in the regular rotation