Sweet potato spice cake is a moist and flavorful treat that’s perfect for every season, with warm spices like cinnamon and ginger and a touch of sweetness from the sweet potatoes.
Sweet Potato Spice Cake
Makes 1 (9-Inch) Cake
Ingredients
- 1¼ pounds sweet potatoes,
- rinsed well
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup whole buttermilk
- Browned Butter Frosting (recipe follows)
- Garnish: chopped toasted walnuts
Browned Butter Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon cane syrup
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
- Pierce sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Place on prepared pan.
- Bake until fork-tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool enough to handle. Peel, and discard skins; mash flesh with a potato masher. Reserve 1½ cups mashed sweet potato. Reduce oven temperature to 350°.
- Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray with flour.
- In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, and beat until combined.
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and pepper. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating at low speed just until combined after each addition. Stir in reserved 1½ cups sweet potato just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Place cooled cake on a cake plate, and spread Browned Butter Frosting on top. Garnish with walnuts, if desired.
Browned Butter Frosting
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until butter turns a medium-brown color and has a nutty aroma, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool completely.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat browned butter, confectioners’ sugar, cream, cane syrup, and salt with a mixer at low speed until well combined, 2 to 3 minutes. Increase mixer speed to medium, and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
