Sweet Potato Pound Cake (Plus VIDEO)

Why Sweet Potatoes Work for Pound Cake

Pound cake is all about the right ingredients in the correct proportions. There was a time when people made theirs with precisely a pound of butter, a pound of flour, a pound of sugar, and a dozen eggs. That is easy to remember, right? Add creamy sweet potato puree to the mix, and you have a dessert to die for.

Besides tasting great, sweet potatoes are moist and nutritious. Who doesn’t want more polyphenols, vitamins, and beta-carotene for a little less guilt? Pound cake is the ideal way to sneak more veggies into your family.

Ingredients You’ll Need

1. All-Purpose Flour – This essential ingredient is the foundation for your sweet potato pound cake recipe, so you’ll be surprised flour is not just for baking! It’s fantastic for thickening sauces. You can use a gluten-free, all-purpose flour substitute.
2. Leavening Agents – Baking powder and baking soda create bubbles for a light and fluffy cake.
3. Spices – Cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest, and a dash of salt deliver holiday cheer. You could replace them all with pumpkin pie spice.
4. Unsalted Butter – Super versatile and smooth, I prefer unsalted butter to control the amount of salt.
5. Sugar – Granulated and brown sugar sweeten the cake beautifully without stealing the spotlight.
6. Eggs bring the pound cake batter together, add a little extra fat for flavor, and won’t taste eggy at all.
7. Sweet Potatoes – The stars of the show, just one and a half cups of mashed sweet potatoes give the pound cake an entirely new feel. You could also use pumpkin puree.
8. Sour Cream adds richness and fuller body to the cake. Plus, it complements the cake’s sweetness with a lovely tang. Yogurt or heavy cream with a squeeze of lemon juice will also work.
9. Vanilla Extract – Is there anything vanilla can’t do? The fragrant extract of this exotic orchid smells fantastic, and it will add the loveliest aroma to your pound cake. Do yourself and your budget a big favor by making your own vanilla extract.
10. Heavy Cream in the glaze makes it silky and glossy. Drooling! You could replace it with coconut cream.
11. Powdered Sugar – Granulated sugar makes a rather grainy glaze. The solution? Powdered sugar! My little secret—I run granulated sugar through the blender until it’s powdered. So much cheaper. 😉

How to Make a Sweet Potato Pound Cake

The Cake

• Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C. Grease and flour a tube or bundt cake pan generously with cooking spray and set aside.
• Dry Ingredients – Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. (Photo 1)
• Cream the butter and the granulated and brown sugar at high speed in a stand mixer until it’s fluffy and starting to look white (4-5 minutes).
• Mix the wet and dry ingredients. Then, add eggs one at a time, beating the mixture well between each addition. Add mashed sweet potatoes, followed by flour mixture a little at a time. (Photo 2-4)
• The Finishing Touch – Add the sour cream and vanilla extract. Stir well until everything is thoroughly combined. Please DON’T overmix. As you go, scrape the sides of the mixing bowl. (Photo 5-6)
• Pour the mixture into a greased cake pan. Lightly tap the tube pan on the countertop to eliminate large air bubbles. (Photo 7)
• Bake at 300℉/150℃ until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 55 minutes, more or less. (Photo 8)
• Cool It – Move it to a wire rack and let it cool completely.

Caramel Glaze

• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan on low.
• Combine – As soon the butter melts, add the brown sugar, heavy cream, and salt. Continue stirring the sauce with a rubber spatula until well blended.
• Cook – Then, bring the mixture to a boil, scraping down the sides occasionally, and boil it for 4-5 minutes.
• Flavor – Remove the caramel sauce from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Transfer it to a container to cool.
• Make Frosting – Gradually sift powdered sugar into a medium bowl, then stir in the vanilla extract and caramel sauce a little at a time until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. (Add a little milk if the frosting gets too thick.) (Photos 9-10)
• Serve – Drizzle on cake, slice, and serve. (Photos 11-12)

Recipe Variations

1. Sweet Potato Cupcakes – Once you have the batter together, divide it into a muffin pan instead of pouring it into a baking pan. Reduce the baking time by 10 minutes. These are the most drool-worthy muffins you’ll ever try.
2. Sweet Potato Snack Bars – Pour your pound cake batter into a 9×13-inch baking pan and slice it into bars. Store them in the fridge for a fantastic grab-and-go snack.
3. Chocolate Sweet Potato Cake – Chocolate chips and sweet potatoes are super compatible. Add a fistful to the batter and turn your pound cake into something else entirely different — even more delicious!
4. Praline sweet potato pound cake. Add crumbled pecan praline or chopped pecans into the batter or glaze for even more deliciousness.

Tips and Tricks

1. For pound cake recipes, it pays to be accurate. Measure your ingredients and mix your dry and wet ingredients well before combining them. That’s the way to get consistent results.
2. Ensure the ingredients are at room temperature, especially the eggs, the sour cream, and the mashed sweet potatoes. The batter mixes better and cooks more evenly than if you start with cold ingredients.
3. Don’t overmix. Mix the ingredients well, but mixing it too much results in a crumbly pound cake.
4. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick. It should come out clean. However, keep in mind this pound cake is pretty moist — that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s undercooked.

Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions

Serve the sweet potato pound cake with a dollop of homemade whipped creamand garnish with some extra orange zest if you have some left. It will be so beautiful!

Store the pound cake in an airtight container or a cake plate covered with plastic wrap at room temperature. The cake will last for a couple of days (if it’s not eaten first 😉).

There’s no need to reheat this pound cake, but if you want to enjoy it nice and warm, you can toast the slices on a baking tray in a preheated 350℉/176℃ oven for about 5 minutes. 

What Goes With a Sweet Potato Pound Cake

This lively sweet potato pound cake recipe is the perfect dessert after an instant pot turkey breast, ground beef casserole, or other hearty dishes.

You’ll also enjoy a slice of this sweet potato pound cake with a side of rum raisin pineapple ice cream or a pumpkin spice latte.

More Decadent Pound Cake Recipes to Try

1. Sour Cream Pound Cake
2. Chocolate Pound Cake
3. 7UP Pound Cake
4. Strawberry Pound Cake

Watch How to Make It

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”krjB27KC” upload-date=”2021-11-19T07:00:00.000Z” name=”Sweet Potato Pound CAKE” description=”Sweet potatoes are perfect for your next holiday dinner and everyday meals. Now for the leftover sweet potato challenge. However, I have the solution for you. This recipe for a sweet potato pound cake is one of my favorite sweet potato recipes. So fluffy and moist, and deliciously sweet, this is a pound cake like no other!” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”]

By Imma

This blog post was originally published in November 2021 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video