This super moist Sweet Potato Pound Cake is made with
a delicious cream cheese glaze and topped with pecans.
Watch the video for this Sweet Potato Pound Cake!
Omg I can't wait for you to experience the ultimate moisture that the sweet potatoes bring to this cake. Yes, we are adding mashed sweet potatoes right into this cake batter. I know a potato pound cake may sound foreign, but this cake is absolutely delicious!
We also added icing/glaze to this cake, but this Sweet Potato Cake truly does not need a ton of icing/glaze. This cake was topped with pecans, even though optional, they add a nice touch and some extra texture to this cake.
So let's get into this recipe so I can show you how it's done!
More recipes ---> Sweet Potato Pie, Eggnog Pound Cake, Pineapple Upside Down Pound Cake, Pecan Upside Down Pound Cake, Gingerbread Pound Cake, Rum Pound Cake, Peach Cobbler Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Red Velvet Pound Cake, Buttermilk Pound Cake, Cream Cheese Pound Cake & Mile High Pound Cake!!
Sweet Potato Pound Cake ingredients:
For the cake:
- All-purpose flour - sifted
- Unsalted butter - room temperature
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Eggs - room temperature
- Vanilla extract
- Sweet potatoes
- Buttermilk - room temperature
Ingredients needed for the Cream cheese frosting:
- Cream cheese - room temperature
- Unsalted Butter - room temperature
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla
- Salt
- Milk - room temperature
- Chopped pecans (optional)
(Note: The full ingredient list is provided in the recipe card below.)
Steps to make the Southern Sweet Potato Pound Cake:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Wash your sweet potatoes thoroughly, place them in a baking dish, and bake them for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until tender. We're not using canned sweet potatoes for this recipe, but you can do so if you choose.
Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, peel them, scoop out 1 ½ cups of the sweet potatoes, and sit them to the side. In a separate bowl, whisk the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour together. Sit it to the side.
Using a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (approximately 5 minutes). Add the eggs to the bowl one at a time, mixing well after each addition before adding the next egg.
Add the vanilla extract and cooked sweet potatoes and mix until combined.
Steps continued....
Add the flour mixture ½ c to 1 c at a time on low speed until combined alternating with the buttermilk- beginning and ending with the flour.
Using a spoon or spatula scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix ensuring that the batter is fully mixed together.
Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with non-stick spray. Pour the batter into the pan and spread it evenly.
Bake for an hour and to an hour and 10 minutes. The cake is done once an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for about 20 minutes before removing it from the pan. Allow the cake to continue to cool on a wire rack before adding the icing.
How to make the cream cheese frosting for the pound cake:
Using a hand or stand mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese until well blended. Then add the vanilla extract and salt.
Next on slow speed, add the powdered sugar about a ½ c at a time until well blended and creamy.
Then add the milk and mix until combined. Decorate the cake with the icing however you desire. Top with chopped pecans (optional) and serve.
What Is A Pound Cake?
A pound cake is commonly made in a bundt pan and is also called a bundt cake. It is made from 4 main ingredients- flour, sugar, butter, and eggs; typically a pound of each ingredient.
Of course, there are many variations of how to make a pound cake, but those are the basic ingredients. Pound cakes are moist and tender, yet dense in texture.
This old-fashioned dessert has definitely evolved these days and is served with or without icing.
Helpful Guides for Beginners
If you're new to baking I got you covered! Here are some helpful guides to help you along the way!
- How to make a moist Pound Cake
- Pound Cake Essential Tools
- Mistakes to avoid when baking a pound cake
Helpful Baking Tools
- Bundt Pan
- Stand Mixer
- Hand Mixer
- Basting Brush
- Sifter
- Silicone Spatula
- Oven Thermometer
- Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl
- Baker's Joy
- Cake Keeper
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
Pound Cake Tips + Tricks
Whether you are a beginner or have been in the baking game for a while, I hope these tips are helpful in making sure that your pound cake comes out great!
⇢ Properly measure your ingredients – Always measure each ingredient before adding it to the cake to make sure that you have the accurate amount of each ingredient for the recipe. Baking requires exact measurements for the cake to come out correctly.
⇢ Always use room temperature ingredients– Standard pound cake ingredients include butter and eggs which should always be a room temperature to ensure that they properly blend into the batter and do not cause any clumping. Other common ingredients such as milk, cream cheese, etc should also be a room temperature. Make sure to allow enough time before baking to remove the ingredients from the refrigerator and sit them on the counter to allow them to come to room temperature.
⇢ Properly cream the butter and sugar together– Once blended the texture should be light and fluffy. Blend the ingredients together at a moderate speed for a least two to three minutes.
⇢ Add the eggs one at a time– Eggs must be added one at a time blending well after each addition. Once you’ve added an egg to the batter and no longer see any yellow, then you can add another egg to the batter.
⇢ Don’t overmix your batter– Aside from creaming the butter and sugar together, once done adding an ingredient, immediately start adding the next ingredient. If you are not quite ready, stop the mixer until you're ready to add the next ingredient. After you have added the last ingredient, just mix until blended. If the batter still requires mixing, for example, if there is any unmixed batter on the side of the bowl, finish the mixing process using a spoon.
⇢ Spray the hell out of your bundt pan - My favorite method is using a baking spray such as Baker’s Joy which includes the flour and oil all in one can. It's always a no-fail method for me and the cake comes right out of the pan. You can also grease the pan with oil (solid or liquid) then dust the pan evenly with flour if you prefer that method.
Frequently asked questions:
The potatoes can be boiled or baked. Boil or bake the sweet potatoes until fork tender. Once the potatoes have slightly cooled remove the skin from the potatoes and then puree them using a food processor or similar. The potatoes are easiest to peel and puree while they are still warm.
Fresh or canned sweet potatoes can be used for this recipe; however, fresh will always provide the best flavor.
The sweet potato puree added to this cake adds a great deal of moisture to his cake. It is also important to store the cake properly to ensure that it remains moist.
Store the cake in plastic wrap or an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator or counter for up to 5 days. If you refrigerate the cake, once you remove the cake from the refrigerator allow it to sit on the counter until it comes to room temperature.
If you are just enjoying a slice of the cake, I recommend that you just cut a slice of the cake and return the rest of the cake to the refrigerator.
Let me know in the comments if you have ever had this cake before. If this is your first time making this recipe, let me know what you think!
It's a little different adding sweet potatoes to a cake recipe, but believe me, you won't be disappointed. This may end up being one of your favorite pound cake recipes 🙂
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Ingredients
- For the cake:
- 3 c all-purpose flour- sifted
- 1 c unsalted butter- room temperature
- 1 c buttermilk- room temperature
- 1½ c sweet potato - cooked and mashed
- 1 c light brown sugar
- 2 c granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 5 large eggs- room temperature
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- For the icing/glaze:
- 8 oz cream cheese - room temperature
- 3 c powdered sugar
- ½ c unsalted butter - room temperature
- ½ c (whole) milk - room temperature
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 tsps vanilla
- chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Wash your potatoes thoroughly, place them in a baking dish and bake for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until tender.
- Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, peel them and scoop out 1 ½ cups of the sweet potatoes, mash them and sit them to the side to cool.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour together. Sit it to the side.
- Using a hand or stand mixer cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together just until light and fluffy (approximately 5 minutes).
- Add the eggs to the bowl one at a time, mixing well after each addition before adding the next egg.
- Add the vanilla extract and cooked sweet potatoes and mix until combined.
- Add the flour mixture ½ c to 1 c at a time on low speed until combined alternating with the buttermilk- beginning and ending with the flour.
- Using a spoon or spatula scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix ensuring that the batter is fully mixed together.
- Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with non-stick spray.
- Pour the batter into the pan and spread it evenly.
- Bake for an hour and to an hour and 10 minutes. The cake is done once an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for about 20 minutes before removing it from the pan. Allow the cake to continue to cool on a wire rack before adding the icing.
- To make the icing:
- Using a hand or stand mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese until well blended.
- Then add the vanilla extract and salt.
- Next on slow speed, add the powdered sugar about a ½ c at a time until well blended and creamy.
- Then add the milk and mix until combined.
- Decorate the cake with the icing however you desire. Top with chopped pecans (optional) and serve.
Sharon E. Brown says
I want to bake a Juneteenth pound cake. do i use a basic vanilla pound cake as the base?
Ashley Frederick says
You absolutely can love!