I love a sweet potato. And this cake has been on my list since I started this project at the beginning of this year.
Every time I think of sweet potatoes, which is often, I recall an episode of Oprah from 2009. The whole episode had the same theme as that month’s issue of O Magazine (how do I a remember all this?!?!) with a cover blurb that asked, “How did I let this happen again?” During the episode, Oprah detailed her plan to get her health and fitness back on track. And she enthusiastically let us know a baked sweet potato would be a special treat she would enjoy on occasion. And that episode was kind of monumental because loyal Oprah fans will recall that this was THE LAST time Oprah ever publicly talked about her weight and wanting to change it and we never did hear back about how her new diet and fitness plan panned out.
Naturally, The Soup had a field day with the “sweet potato” clip and it’s forever etched in my memory.
Okay, back to the cake. Here’s my mise en place.
The ingredients were pretty simple. The first step was to cook the sweet potato. By the way, I have to go on another quick tangent here. I know there’s a difference between yams and sweet potatoes, I’m just not sure what that difference is. It may have been a yam I was using here. I’m not sure. Whatever. Use a sweet potato or a yam. Whatever is on sale!
I didn’t know how to quickly cook a yam-potato in the microwave so I Googled it. You poke it with a fork a bunch of times and microwave it for about 8 minutes on each side. I removed it from the microwave and sliced it open to cool a bit before scooping the insides into my mixing bowl for mashing.
In a separate bowl I sifted the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, giving it a whisk once sifted so it was fully mixed.
To the mashed potatoes I added the sugar and oil and mixed using my hand mixer. Next I added the eggs and vanilla.
Then I slowly added the dry ingredients.
I poured the finished batter into a prepared 8″ round pan. I used a parchment round on the bottom and a baking strip around the pan – my secret weapons!
The cake baked at 325 degrees in about 25 minutes. I rotated my pan halfway through.
I let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before sliding it out and cutting it in half crosswise with a bread knife. Now, I know how to do this step and how to do it well. So in my defense, I was eager to taste the cake and my friend Thomas was coming over soon! I got sloppy and the top part of the cake was too thin and it cracked in two pieces.
Meanwhile, I prepared the penuche icing. “What is penuche icing?” you may be wondering. It’s caramel amazingness. That’s the only way I can describe it.
I melted the butter and brown sugar together over medium heat, bringing it to a boil. Once I whisked in the cream, I heat it for another couple minutes before removing it from the heat and letting it cool a bit.
I used my hand mixer to mix in about 1 cup confectioners sugar, until the mixture reached spreading consistency.
A funny thing happened when I was assembling the cake. As I transferred the top layer, which was already cracked in half, the two-piece layer broke into four pieces. You can spot a generous crack on the right side of the image above. I felt okay serving this to my friend Thomas because he and I have been baking together for years and he knows I’m capable of much more!
I sprinkled the top of the cake with some of the leftover chopped pecans I used on my sweet potato cake.
The cake was delicious and very moist. Because of the flavors of ginger, cinnamon, and sweet potato the cake tastes very festive for Christmastime.
- 1 lb raw sweet potato or 1 cup mashed sweet potato
- 1 1/3 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- FOR FROSTING
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)
- FOR CAKE: Pierce sweet potatoes with fork. Microwave on high until tender, about 8 minutes per side. Cool, scoop out center and mash in a large bowl.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray 8 inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Place parchment round in bottom and spray paper.
- Sift flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Whisk to fully combine.
- Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the mashed potato with sugar, oil, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture. Beat just until blended.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until center springs back when touched, about 20-25 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 10 minutes. Using small butter knife or offset spatula, cut around sides of pan to loosen cake. Turn out onto rack; cool completely. Slice in half crosswise with a bread knife if two layers are desired.
- FOR FROSTING: In a medium-sized saucepan, melt 1/2 stick of butter. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk, and bring back, just to a boil, stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually add 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, as needed. (You may not need all of it or you may need more.) Beat until it is spreading consistency. Ice cake as desired.