Sweet Potato Cake

sweet potato cake
Made with the leftover filling from my sweet potato pie recipe, this sweet potato cake is easy to make for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.

There are many reasons why I love this sweet potato cake.

The first reason: it actually tastes like sweet potato.  Similar to the flavor of a sweet potato pie that’s not overly seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices, the sweet potato taste in this cake is clearly present without over-powering.  The flavor is sweet, earthy, and smooth.

My sweet potato cake is made from the extra filling of my sweet potato pie (pictured).

Sweet Potato Pie to Sweet Potato Cake

The first reason I love this sweet potato cake perfectly segues into my second reason: it’s made from the leftover pie filling in my sweet potato pie recipe.

There’s something very satisfying about using leftovers.  And there’s something very satisfying about making two dishes out of one recipe.  This cake does both.

To make this cake, simply make my sweet potato pie recipe.  Before baking the pie, reserve 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cup of the pie filling, add leaveners, spices, cream, and canola oil, and you’ve got two delicious desserts from one recipe.

Another reason I love this cake is the texture.  The texture of this cake is heavy and rich, somewhere between clafouti and butter cake.

sweet potato cake

Make Sweet Potato Cake

I could go on.  But the last reason I’ll share for why I love this cake is that, similar to my zucchini breakfast cake and zucchini coffee cake, this sweet potato cake is a great option for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.  I’ve enjoyed it as all three and really couldn’t say when I prefer it.

Like my sweet potato pie, this is a cake to be enjoyed year round.  Make it this week!

One Thing

I do prefer this sweet potato cake without frosting. It really doesn’t need it. But if you’re feeling extra festive, it’s great with the spiced buttercream frosting from my pumpkin cake recipe, just make one simple adjustment: don’t use pumpkin pie spice in the frosting. Use 1/4 tsp of nutmeg instead. It will add a hint of spice to the frosting without over-powering the sweet potato flavor of the cake.

Visit my Amazon store for some of my favorite spices.

sweet potato cake
5 from 4 votes

Sweet Potato Cake

Made with the leftover filling from my sweet potato pie recipe, this sweet potato cake is easy to make for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Servings: 8 slices
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ - 1 ¾ cup sweet potato pie filling, (uncooked)
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup sugar
  • tsp nutmeg
  • tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ baking soda
  • ½ baking powder

Instructions

Make/reserve the sweet potato pie filling

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 9 inch circular metal baking pan.
  • Reserve 1 ½ - 1 ¾ cup uncooked sweet potato pie filling (what you don’t use in the sweet potato pie). Add the uncooked pie filling to a medium size mixing bowl.
  • Add the canola oil, heavy cream, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder to the pie filling. Mix everything together until smooth and incorporated.

Bake the cake

  • Pour the cake batter into the oiled 9 inch round metal cake pan. Bake the cake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, until the top is set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Serve and enjoy

  • Let the cake cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Serve alone, or with whipped cream.

Notes

This cake is vegetarian.
The texture of this cake is a cross between clafouti and butter cake.
Serve this cake for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.
Frost the cake, if desired, with my spiced buttercream, just make one adjustment: substitute the pumpkin pie spice with 1/4 tsp nutmeg.
This cake is best if eaten within 1-2 days.
© Copyright 2025 Vanguard of Hollywood

4 Responses

  1. 5 stars
    I haven’t had a sweet potato dessert yet – still feel a bit sceptical. But I think that this sweet potato cake is something that could be a good first step; you had me at the not too overpowering sweet potato flavour 🙂 And it looks great, too!

    1. Thanks Ben! No sweet potato dessert yet?? Definitely give this cake a try, I’m sure it will make you a fan of sweet potato desserts!

5 from 4 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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