Sweet Potato Pound Cake

This Sweet Potato Pound Cake is a tender, buttery cake recipe that calls for cinnamon and mashed sweet potatoes. Topped with cinnamon pecans, this cake is the perfect fall dessert!

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I’ve never been one for sweet potato casserole. It’s probably the one and only Thanksgiving side dish that I avoid. I love sweet potatoes. I like marshmallows and pecans. I just don’t want them in a side dish. In a dessert, though? Yes, please!

This Sweet Potato Pound Cake has a not-so-secret ingredient – sweet potatoes. Say what!? Sweet potatoes in a pound cake? I know it sounds a bit strange, but it works. And it works well! The sweet potato leads to a moist and flavorful pound cake. My wife (who doesn’t share a love for pound cakes like I do) said, “This is amazing. You need to start including sweet potatoes in every pound cake you make now.”

The Best Sweet Potato Pound Cake

Not only is this Sweet Potato Pound Cake moist and tender, but the taste is out of this world! The sweet potatoes bring an earthy sweetness. Combine that with the cinnamon sugar pecans, and you’ve got a dessert that’s perfect for this time of year. If you’re looking for a show-stopper of a dessert, then put this on the list ASAP!

What is a Pound Cake?

A pound cake is an old-fashioned dessert that is typically baked in a Bundt or tube pan. Pound cakes are especially popular in the Southern region of the United States. Traditionally, pound cake recipes called for a pound each of flour, sugar, butter and eggs. The result was a heavy, somewhat dense cake.

Over the years, pound cake recipes have improved. They are still dense, buttery cakes, but it is now more common to see unique ingredients in pound cakes. Case in point: sweet potatoes!

Ingredients

• For the Sugared Pecans: egg white, pecans, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon
• For the Pound Cake: butter, sugar, eggs, mashed sweet potatoes, vanilla extract, salt, baking soda and flour
• For the Glaze: powdered sugar and milk

How to Cook Sweet Potatoes

The key ingredient in this Sweet Potato Pound Cake is mashed sweet potatoes. If available, you can use canned, mashed sweet potatoes. However, it’s easy to use whole sweet potatoes, too. Just cut the sweet potatoes into 1″ cubes and boil them for ~20 minutes, or until very tender. From there, just drain off the water and mash the sweet potatoes until smooth. Easy peasy!

How to Make Sweet Potato Pound Cake

Pound cakes sometimes get a bad rap for being dense and dry. There are several keys to making a great pound cake:

• Start with room-temperature ingredients. A couple hours before you plan on baking this cake, pull out the butter and eggs and let them sit at room temperature. This will lead to a lighter batter and thus a lighter cake, too.
• Cream the butter and sugar together well. This will take 3-4 minutes at medium speed on a countertop mixer. You will notice the mixture will become fluffier, and it will begin to stick to the sides of the pan. Also, add the eggs one at a time. This helps make sure they are incorporated into the batter properly.
• Make sure to grease the pan very well. Pound cakes are notorious for sticking to the pan. The secret comes at the beginning of the process: greasing the pan. I typically rub vegetable shortening over all of the nooks and crannies of the pan. Then I dust the pan lightly with flour. Sometimes I even add a bit of nonstick spray in there, too. There’s nothing worse than flipping that pan over and seeing half of the cake stay in the pan!
• Let the cake rest. After removing the cake from the oven, let it rest in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack.

How to Store Leftovers

Leftovers of this Sweet Potato Pound Cake should be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. This cake also freezes well, too. Just wrap it in plastic wrap and store it a freezer bag for up to 4 months.

If you’re looking for a fantastic Autumn dessert, then look no further! This pound cake recipe is easy and delicious, and the flavors are perfect for the season. Happy baking!

Did you bake this Sweet Potato Pound Cake recipe at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!

Sweet Potato Pound Cake

This Sweet Potato Pound Cake is a tender, buttery cake recipe that calls for cinnamon and mashed sweet potatoes. Topped with cinnamon pecans, this cake is the perfect fall dessert!

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours

Servings: 20 servings

Calories: 311kcal

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Ingredients

For the Sugared Pecans

• 1 large egg white
• ½ Tbsp water
• 1 cup pecan halves
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp light brown sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp cinnamon

For the Sweet Potato Pound Cake

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 2 cups + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

For the Glaze

• 1¼ cups powdered sugar
• 2½ Tbsp milk

Instructions

For the Sugared Pecans

• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray; set pan aside.
• Using a large bowl, whisk together the egg white and water. Add pecan halves and toss until well coated.
• In a separate bowl, stir together the sugars, salt and cinnamon. Add this mixture to the bowl with pecans and toss until well coated.
• Spread pecans across prepared baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes.
• Set pan aside to cool.

For the Sweet Potato Pound Cake

• Peel sweet potatoes and cut into ½” cubes.
• Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add sweet potatoes and reduce heat to medium-low.
• Let cook for 25-30 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.
• Drain and transfer sweet potatoes into a large bowl.
• Using a potato masher or a fork, mash sweet potatoes until smooth.
• Place 1 cup of sweet potatoes in a large bowl. (Note: If you have extra mashed sweet potatoes, save ‘em and eat ‘em by themselves!)
• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• Using a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes on medium speed).
• Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
• Add sweet potatoes and vanilla extract; mix until well combined.
• Add salt, baking soda and half of the flour to the bowl; mix until well combined.
• Add remaining flour; mix until well combined.
• Scrape sides and bottom of bowl to ensure batter is well combined.
• Grease and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan (or generously spray with cooking spray and then lightly dust with flour). Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Let cool in pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire baking rack. Let cool completely before glazing.

For the Glaze

• Using a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and milk. Pour glaze on top of cooled cake, letting excess drip down sides of cake.
• While the glaze is still wet, sprinkle chopped pecans around top of pound cake.

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