Sweet Potato Pound Cake (Plus VIDEO)

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!

Contents… What is a Sweet Potato Pound Cake? What You Need for a Sweet Potato Pound Cake Recipe Variations Tips and Tricks Serving and Storage Instructions FAQs What Goes with a Sweet Potato Pound Cake? More Pound Cake Recipes to Try How to Make a Sweet Potato Pound Cake Watch How To Make It

You guys already know how much I love pound cake. Just put it in the search bar and see how many recipes come up. Pound cakes are the easiest cakes out there and always end up beautiful. Charming simplicity!

At the same time, pound cakes offer a blank canvas for creativity — with a bit of imagination, you can turn them into fantastic new treats! In this case, a sweet potato pound cake, you read that right!

What is a Sweet Potato Pound Cake?

This sweet potato recipe is all about the right ingredients in the correct proportions. That’s unique about the pound cake — 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?

What You Need for a Sweet Potato Pound Cake

• 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.
• Baking Powder – This ingredient is a must as the rich dough needs all the help it can get to rise because who doesn’t love a fluffy cake?
• Baking Soda – Along with baking powder, baking soda will help lift the dough for a fluffy sweet potato pound cake.
• Cinnamon – Cinnamon is the perfect condiment for any sweet potato recipe. They were meant to be together.
• Nutmeg – Together with cinnamon, nutmeg accentuates the sweet potatoes’ comforting flavors.
• Orange Zest – Summery, citrus scents liven the fall-flavored pound cake recipe beautifully.
• Salt – Just a tad will do because it enhances all other flavors in the recipe.
• Unsalted Butter – Super versatile and smooth, I prefer unsalted butter to control the amount of salt.
• Granulated Sugar – Regular sugar sweetens the cake beautifully without stealing the spotlight.
• Brown Sugar – Brown sugar adds a slight molasses taste to the fall spices and flavors.
• Eggs – Eggs will help bring the pound cake batter together. So the cake doesn’t taste eggy at all.
• 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 can also use pumpkin puree.
• Sour Cream – Sour cream adds richness and a fuller body to the cake, and it complements the cake’s sweetness with a lovely tang. But yogurt or heavy cream with a squeeze of lemon juice will work, too.
• 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. Oh yeah! Do yourself and your budget a big favor by making your own. Yum!
• Heavy Cream – We’re gonna use heavy cream for the glaze because it makes it silky and glossy. Drooling! You could replace it with coconut cream.
• 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. 😉

Recipe Variations

• Sweet Potato Cupcakes – Once you have the batter together, you can divide it into a muffin pan instead of pouring it into a loaf pan. Reduce the baking time by 10 minutes. These are the most drool-worthy muffins you’ll ever try.
• Sweet Potato Snack Bars – Cut your pound cake into bars and store them in the fridge. They’re a fantastic grab-and-go snack for a tasty and quick bite.
• 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!

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.

Serving and Storage Instructions

Serve the sweet potato pound cake with a dollop of homemade whipped cream and 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 😉). However, pound cake tends to dry out in the fridge after a few days.

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. 

FAQs

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 or a Ground Beef Casserole and other hearty dishes like that.

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 Pound Cake Recipes to Try

• Sour Cream Pound Cake
• Chocolate Pound Cake
• 7UP Pound Cake
• Strawberry Pound Cake

How to Make a Sweet Potato Pound Cake

Prep Work

• Getting it Ready – Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C. Grease a tube pan generously with cooking spray and set aside.

Dry Ingredients

• Mix the Dry Ingredients – Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. (Photo 1)
• Cream Butter – Cream together the butter and the granulated and brown sugar at high speed in a stand mixer until it’s fluffy and starting to look white, about 4-5 minutes.

Make the Cake Batter

• 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 2-5)
• The Finishing Touch – Add the sour cream and vanilla extract. Stir well until everything is thoroughly combined. DON’T overmix. As you go, scrape the sides of the mixing bowl. (Photo 6-7)

Ready for the Oven

• Prepping the Pan – Pour the mixture into a greased cake pan. Lightly tap the tube pan on the countertop to eliminate any large air bubbles. (Photo 8-9)
• Bake the Cake – Bake at 300℉/150℃ until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 55 minutes, more or less. (Photo 10)
• Cool It – Move it to a wire rack and let it cool.

Caramel Glaze

• Melt the Butter – In a medium saucepan, add butter—heat on low.
• Add the Good Stuff – As soon it melts, add the brown sugar, heavy cream, and salt. Continue to stir the mixture with a rubber spatula until it’s well blended. Then bring the mixture to a boil, scraping down the sides occasionally, and boil it for 4-5 minutes.
• Pour in the Vanilla – Remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Transfer the caramel sauce to a container to cool.
• Make it Pretty – 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.
• Serve – Drizzle on cake, slice, and serve.

Watch How To Make It

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