Sweet Potato Spice Cake

There is a dominant flavor profile among us every fall. It is pumpkin spice and it is everywhere. I am guilty as well (see Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake and Pumpkin Spice Cinnies, for example), but what if I told you that there was something…even better? And if I told you that that something better was a Sweet Potato Spice Cake?

Well, I am saying it. Sweet Potato Spice Cake has entered the fall chat and she is the spicy, dense, rich personality that we’ve been missing. 🤩

About this Sweet Potato Spice Cake

For those among us who love the spice-forwardness of this season, this Sweet Potato Spice Cake delivers in a huge way. 

First, of all, the sweet potatoes call for roasting instead of boiling, which helps pull out their incredible natural sweetness and enhances their delectable maple notes. 

Those roasted sweet potatoes are then processed until smooth (you can use either a potato ricer or a food processor for this job), and they get a beautiful lift from some pure maple syrup. This combination creates an unbelievable base for the perfectly balanced and prominently featured spices that help this cake pull way ahead of pumpkin spice in the overall standings. 🥇

(Don’t get me wrong. My Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake is the it girl of the season for my pumpkin spice fanatics.)

The sweet potatoes create an impossibly, deliciously moist (🙉) texture that helps this cake become the most impressive of the season.

So, for the “I’m not into pumpkin spice” crowd, I’ve got you. This one is…luxe.

Sweet Potato Spice Cake Ingredients

All-Purpose Flour: A pound cake has to have a pleasantly plump texture. In my experience (and with my cakes), that beautiful texture comes from all-purpose flour. That particular flour is absolutely perfect for this cake.

Baking Soda: Sweet potatoes are ever-so-slightly acidic. Because of that, baking soda was the proper leavening to add to this cake.

Kosher Salt: Salt is very important in any dessert; it balances the sugar and keeps the dessert from becoming cloyingly sweet. If using table salt for this recipe, cut the amount in half.

Sweet Potato Spice (Cloves, Nutmeg and Cinnamon): The “sweet potato spice” featured in this cake recipe gives this cake absolutely huge spice flavor. The cloves have a deep, spicy, earthy flavor. The nutmeg gives this cake deep warmth, like a hug for your insides. Finally, the cinnamon gives that well-known smoky/spicy kick that make it a star in so many recipes.

Unsalted Butter: This cake has huge flavor, and butter plays a delicious part in that. Additionally, properly creaming butter and sugar creates air pockets that assist with cake rise.

Full-Fat Cream Cheese: The full-fat cream cheese adds additional delicious fat to this recipe, while also giving the cake an almost creamy mouth feel. 

Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar gives our cake the sweetness that it needs, but did you know that granulated sugar is also responsible for caramelization too? As the sugar caramelizes, it develops a golden-brown color and a nutty, toasted flavor that perfectly complements the rich sweet potato flavor in the finished cake.

Eggs: The protein in the eggs adds structure to the cake, while the fatty yolk adds delicious flavor. This recipe calls for four eggs, which is perfection. While many pound cakes have five or six eggs, that is too many for this particular cake, considering the amount of sweet potato here.

Pure Vanilla Extract: The pure vanilla extract in this cake provides the perfect assist for the sweet potato spice mixture. 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes: The roasting process brings out the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes, and it also gives the cake a much deeper sweet potato flavor!

Real Maple Syrup: Real maple syrup helps to bring out the sweet potato flavor even more! It provides a beautiful balance to the heavily spiced cake. 

Beginners Start Here

If you’re new to baking, or if you want to learn how to do some of the more tricky baking techniques, here are a couple of super helpful articles from the BwB site that will help you get set up for success with this Sweet Potato Spice Cake.

• My Favorite Bundt Pans
• Meet Your Kitchen BFF–Your Digital Kitchen Scale!
• Technique Tips for the Best Pound Cakes (& Big News!)
• How to Cream Butter and Sugar (With New Video!)
• Baking 101: How to Measure Ingredients
• How to Grease a Bundt Pan
• The Best Tools for Perfect Pound Cakes
• Knowing When to Stop a Technique
• Begin with Butter Home Baking Academy | Perfect Pound Cakes Class!

These resources are super helpful to help you build consistency and confidence on your baking journey. Happy Reading!

Important Tools Used in this Sweet Potato Spice Cake

Guess what? Begin with Butter has its own Amazon Storefront, where you can find all of the amazing equipment that I used in this Sweet Potato Spice Cake! Want even more specific product recommendations? Check out the product links, below.

I do get paid a commission when you purchase, but these are the tools that I use all the time in my own kitchen.

If you have these tools already, great! Think of this as a checklist to help you build the confidence that you’ll need to execute this recipe!

• Taylor Oven Thermometer
• ThermoWorks Square Dot Thermometer
• Ozeri Pronto Digital Food Scale
• OXO Digital Food Scale
• KitchenAid Hand Mixer
• KitchenAid Stand Mixer 
• Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl Set
• Deli Containers for Prep
• OXO Spatula Set
• Sifter
• My Absolute Favorite Pound Cake Pans

Enjoy the recipe BBs! Happy baking, and may all of your pound cakes have perfect caramelization!

Sweet Potato Spice Cake

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This Sweet Potato Spice Cake has rich, deep maple notes. Combined with the warmth of perfectly balanced spices, this autumn-inspired cake is the perfect pound cake for slower days.

Ingredients

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For the Cake Batter:

• 384 g (3 c) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cinnamon
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 114 g (1/2 c) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 114 g (1/2 c) cream cheese, room temperature
• 500 g (2.5 c) granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 425 g (~1.75 c) roasted sweet potatoes (about 2 large sweet potatoes)
• 3 tbsp real maple syrup

For the Vanilla Simple Syrup:

• 84 g (1/3 c) water
• 67 g (1/3 c) granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Maple Cream Cheese Glaze:

• 154 g (2/3 c) cream cheese, room temperature
• 240 g (2 c) confectioner’s sugar
• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1.5 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tbsp whole milk

For the Optional Cinnamon Streusel Topping:

• 50 g (1/4 c) brown sugar
• 50 g (1/4 c) granulated sugar
• 32 g (1/4 c) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
• 57 g (1/4 c) butter, cold

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Instructions

To Make the Cake Batter:

1. Heat your oven to 400°F. Poke holes in each of the sweet potatoes and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
2. Roast the sweet potatoes for 45-60 minutes, or until a knife goes through without resistance. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool.
3. Once cooled, scoop the insides from each sweet potato. Using either a potato ricer or food processor, process the sweet potatoes until smooth.
4. Place the smooth sweet potatoes into a large bowl. Add maple syrup and stir until combined.
5. Once the potato mixture is fully cooled, heat your oven to a true 325°F. Use an oven thermometer to determine when your oven is the true temperature.
6. Sift together the all-purpose flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, kosher salt and baking soda in a medium bowl.  Set aside.
7. Add the room-temperature butter and cream cheese to the bowl of your stand mixer or a large mixing bowl.  Mix just the butter and cream cheese with your mixer until completely smooth.  Add the granulated sugar and cream until the mixture is light and fluffy.
8. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each egg until it is completely incorporated into the mixture.  Scrape the sides and bowl as needed to ensure even mixing.
9. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.
10. Add half of the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
11. Add all of the sweet potato/syrup mixture and mix until just combined.
12. Add the second half of the flour mixture and mix until just combined.  Using a rubber spatula, give the sides and bottom of the bowl a final scrape to ensure that the batter is even mixed.
13. Prep a 10- or 12-cup bundt pan as you normally would and add the batter to the pan.  Use a rubber spatula to even out the batter, then tap the pan on the countertop several times to remove air bubbles from the batter.
14. Bake for 55-70 minutes in a true 325°F oven, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 212°F-215°F. 

To Make the Simple Syrup:

1. Add sugar, salt, and water to a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Remove from the heat as soon as the sugar and salt are completely dissolved.
2. Add pure vanilla extract and stir to combine.
3. Allow the cake to cool in its pan for ten minutes, then invert and place on top of a cooling rack. 
4. When the cake and the simple syrup are cool, brush the simple syrup onto the cake onto the cake simple syrup on the cake and allow to cool completely.

To Make the Cinnamon Streusel:

1. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, and salt to a medium bowl.  Stir to combine.
2. Cut the cold butter into tablespoon-sized pieces and add to the sugar mixture.  Use fingers or a pastry cutter, break up the butter pieces until they are the size of peas or larger. 
3. Spread the mixture on parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet.
4. Bake at 325°F for 2-3 minutes, or until the flour looks dissolved.  Freeze until cool.

To Make the Maple Cream Cheese Glaze:

1. Place the cream cheese in a medium sized mixing bowl.
2. Use a hand mixer to mix the cream cheese until it is completely smooth.
3. Place the confectioner’s sugar, fine sea salt, vanilla extract, 1.5 tbsp of pure maple syrup, and 1/2 tbsp of whole milk into the mixing bowl.
4. Using a small whisk, stir gently to combine. Stir until the confectioner’s sugar no longer collects moisture from the liquids or cream cheese.
5. If necessary, add up to 1 tbsp more of whole milk, but do it 1/2 tsp at a time.
6. The final glaze should pour easily and be completely smooth.
7. Drizzle the glaze over the cake, and finish with the streusel if desired. Enjoy!

• Author: Shani

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