If Using Fresh Sweet Potatoes (recommended):

1. Peel, rinse and dice the sweet potatoes into a medium dice. Place the sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover fully with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, and allow to boil for 10-15 minutes, or until fork tender.
2. Remove the sweet potatoes from the heat. Process through a potato ricer or food processor until smooth.
3. Place in a heat-proof bowl to cool. Add maple syrup and combine. Set aside to cool while you prepare the batter.

To Make the Cake:

1. Set oven to a true 325°. An oven thermometer will help you determine whether your oven is actually the correct temperature. Temperature is an important ingredient in this cake!
2. Sift together the all-purpose flour, allspice, cinnamon, baking soda, and kosher salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Place the granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice the vanilla bean pod open (if using). Then, use the knife to scrape out the vanilla beans from the vanilla bean pod. Add the vanilla beans to the sugar mixture and use your fingers to massage the vanilla beans into the sugar. Alternatively, you can add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla beans to a deli cup, snap on the lid, and shake to your heart’s content! Set aside until ready to use.
4. Place the butter into a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix on medium speed until the butter is completely smooth.
5. Add the vanilla-infused sugar mixture and cream until light and fluffy. (don’t know what it means to “cream until light and fluffy”? Take a look at this article!) Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary to ensure even mixing.
6. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix each egg until it’s fully incorporated before adding the next egg. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary to ensure even mixing.
7. Add pure vanilla extract (if using) and/or maple extract/bourbon (if using) and mix until fully combined. If you’re not using pure vanilla extract in this recipe because you’re using vanilla beans, you only need to add your maple extract/bourbon at this point.
8. Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until nearly combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.
9. Add all of the sweet potato puree and mix on low speed until nearly combined.
10. Add the second half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until nearly combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a stiff spatula, and fold the batter until it is smooth and combined.
11. In a medium bowl, combine the cranberries with two tablespoons of flour. Stir to coat the cranberries, then place the cranberries in a fine mesh strainer to remove the excess flour. Fold the cranberries into the batter, and combine until the batter is cohesive and the cranberries are distributed evenly.
12. Prepare a 12- or 15-cup bundt pan as you normally would and place the batter into the pan. Bake at 325° for 70-80 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the cake reaches 212°F.
13. Remove the pan from the oven. After ten minutes, remove the cake from the pan by inverting the pan onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.

To Make the Vanilla Simple Syrup:

1. Place granulated sugar, water, and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil.
2. Remove from the heat and add pure vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
3. Once the cake is fully cooled, brush with the fully cooled simple syrup.

To Make the Cranberry Maple Cream Cheese Glaze:

1. Place the room temperature cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix until completely smooth.
2. Add the confectioner’s sugar, fine sea salt, vanilla extract, maple syrup, cranberry sauce, and 1 tsp of whole milk. Using a small whisk, stir to combine.Do not be fooled into adding additional ingredients too quickly! The more you stir, the more the glaze will come together.
3. If absolutely necessary, add one more teaspoon of whole milk, ½ teaspoon at a time. Stir until the glaze has the consistency of thick honey.
4. Using a spouted measuring cup, squeeze bottle, or spoon, pour the glaze over the completely cooled cake. If desired, top with finishing sugar.
5. Enjoy!