Vanilla Sweet Potato Cake (frosting recipe follows)

With the wild popularity of my Chocolate Sweet Potato Cake from Plant-Powered Families, I had to recreate it in another flavor. This vanilla version is just as good—maybe better! The yellow sweet potato adds mellow sweetness, moisture, and a tender crumb. Frosted with my dreamy Yellow Sweets Frosting it’s positively spectacular. Makes 2 (9-inch) cake layers; serves 8

Course Dessert

Keyword cake, sweet potatoes, sweets, vanilla

Servings double-layer cake

Ingredients

1 cup cooked yellow sweet potato flesh cooled (see note)
11/2 cups non-dairy milk
3 tablespoons raw cashew pieces or 2 tablespoons hemp seeds
11/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups spelt flour or 2 cups less 2 tablespoons white whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unrefined sugar see note
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly wipe two 9-inch round cake pans with just a smidgen of coconut or other oil, then fit a round of parchment paper on the bottom of each pan. Combine the sweet potato, milk, cashews, lemon juice, and vanilla extract in a blender (or in a deep cup if using an immersion blender) and puree until completely smooth. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry (be sure to scrape out all the blended ingredients with a silicone spatula). Mix until well incorporated. Transfer to the prepared pans. Bake for 21–23 minutes, until the batter looks dry in the center and is set to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely in the pans. Carefully invert the pans to remove the cakes and frost as desired. Makes 2 (9-inch) cake layers; serves 8

Video

Notes

Sweet Potato Note: I use yellow sweet potato in this recipe for a light-colored cake. You can certainly substitute orange sweet potato for the yellow.

Sugar Note: While I normally use coconut sugar as a dry sweetener in recipes, here a lighter sugar is optimal for color. Feel free to use coconut sugar, or even date sugar, if you prefer.