The official first day of fall is tomorrow September 22nd and you know what that means for a foodie?! It’s SWEET POTATO TIME!  That’s right, I said sweet potato NOT pumpkin.  Nothing says fall for me more like a sweet potato. Yes, I skip right past the pumpkin spice aisle because that is not my life LOL.  Since the rest of the country is not on the same bandwagon as me, that requires me to make my own sweet potato dishes.   As I scrolled through Pinterest and saw pumpkin spice cakes, I was instantly inspired to make a sweet potato one! After some tweaking, here is my Brown Butter Sweet Potato Cake!

*Here for the Juneteenth Cookout? I moved the links and details to a new post, Juneteenth Collard Green Salad.  Enjoy!* 

Brown Butter Sweet Potato Cake -1
5 from 18 votes
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Sweet Potato Cake

A spin on your traditional spice cake with sweet potato! 

Ingredients

  • 3 Cups Flour
  • 2 Cups Brown Sugar
  • 1 Cup Unsalted Butter i.e. 2 sticks
  • 2 Tsp Baking Soda
  • 2 Tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1/2 Tsp Salt
  • 1/2 Tsp Ginger
  • 1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
  • 2 Cups Mashed Sweet Potato
  • 1 Cup Whole Milk

Instructions

  1. In separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients together (flour, salt, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder).  Whisk together and set aside. 

  2. Cream the sugar and butter together in a stand mixer.  

  3. Then, add eggs, sweet potato and vanilla extract to butter and sugar mixture.  Mix until fully combined. 

  4. Slowly add in dry ingredients to the wet ingredients stopping to ensure it is fully incorporated before adding more. 

  5. Next, add the milk and blend until all ingredients are fully incorporated. 

  6. Pour cake batter into two greased nine inch baking pans or a bundt cake pan.

  7. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. 

  8. Let cool on cooling rack for an hour or so or until cool to the touch.  Frost with the brown butter cream cheese frosting and serve! 

Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Brown Butter Sweet Potato Cake-2
5 from 18 votes
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Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

The perfect fall icing, a brown butter cream cheese frosting that pairs perfectly with a spice cakes, pumpkin or sweet potato cakes! 

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 Cups Unsalted Butter I.E. 3 sticks
  • 5 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Cream Cheese
  • 3 Tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Instructions

  1. Slice butter into thin slices and place in a sauce pan on medium heat, stirring constantly. 

  2. As the butter begins to brown, the milk solids will separate and fall to the bottom of the pan as brown specks.  Continue until butter has a light brown consistency and the specks have formed. 

  3. Next, place the butter into a container and allow to cool in the fridge for about an hour.  Remove once the butter has as resolidified. 

  4. Place cooled butter into your mixer and begin to whip until it has creamy consistency.  *The butter will not be become as white as it does when it's not browned*

  5. Add cream cheese and vanilla extract to the creamed butter. 

  6. Next, add powdered sugar into the mixture in one cup intervals, stopping each time to ensure the powdered sugar is blended into the butter

  7. Finally, add in heavy whipping cream one tablespoon at a time until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.  Add more whipping cream for a more whipped frosting.  The frosting is ready to serve immediately! 

The Takeaway

Brown Butter Sweet Potato Cake-3

I came back to this recipe a few years later to redo the photos.  Pretty typical for a food blogger.   As I went through the ingredients I was annoyed with myself, three cups of flour?! TWO whole sticks of butter for this recipe!   But once I finished the batter and tasted a bit of it, I remembered that this cake is perfection and needs every bit of it! It comes together to form one of the most moist cakes I have ever made and has flavors that put in the mind of my Sweet Potato Honey Cornbread.

There are a few variations that you can make to this recipe including making it a layer cake or a bundt cake.   If brown butter is not your thing go with a simple Buttercream  which has one less step.  But if you do want to venture and add the brown butter, be sure to add the cream cheese as well.  The cream cheese seems to balance out the brown butter making a great final product

Brown Butter Sweet Potato Cake -11

A close up!

Sweet Potato Cake w: Cream Cheese Icing-3