Cake

Sweet Potato Bundt Cake

A huge bundt cake, filled with the flavors of sweet potatoes and warm spices, drizzled with a vanilla icing and topped with pumpkin granola.  Are you as excited for Fall baking as I am??!  I figured we would start out with this sweet potato bundt cake, because I already have a few pumpkin recipes here on the blog, but no recipes using sweet potatoes.  And don’t worry…I have a secret ingredient that makes this cake super easy to make.  Only one bowl is needed to make this recipe, and no long process of cooking and mashing sweet potatoes for this recipe either!

This recipe has an ingredient in it that might have you scratching your head and saying, “Huh?  Really??”  But oh yes….trust me!  This bundt cake is moist, thanks in part to my secret ingredient.  And don’t worry if your bundt cake doesn’t release from the pan beautifully.  The secret to the bundt cake releasing from the pan perfectly, is greasing with Crisco and dusting with flour.  Despite doing that, I still had a small part that didn’t want to come out.  But that’s why we add the icing and toppings, right?!

No bundt pan??  No problem!  If you don’t have a bundt pan, you could always divide the batter into two 9×5-inch loaf pans.  Just watch the bake time, because it will be different from the bake time on the bundt cake.

Did you figure out the secret ingredient yet??  It’s sweet potato baby food!!  That’s why this recipe is awesome: no baking and mashing sweet potatoes to make into sweet potato puree.  I had leftover baby food in the pantry from some dog treats I was baking for Jack, and I decided to play around to see if I could add the baby food into a recipe.  And it worked!  Best shortcut ever!

Sweet Potato Bundt Cake

Print Recipe
Serves: 20 Cooking Time: 50-55 minutes

Ingredients

  • CAKE:
  • 3/4 cup canola oil
  • 1-1/2 cups white granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 3/4 cup pureed sweet potato baby food (I used 2 four-ounce packs of baby food)
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used Vain Indonesian Vanilla Extracted in Ginger Spirits)
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
  • VANILLA ICING:
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons hot water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2-1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 325-degrees. Use a paper towel coated with Crisco to grease the entire inside of the bundt pan (and don't forget the tube in the middle). Sprinkle flour over the greased pan and shake the flour around in the pan to coat the grease.

2

PREPARE CAKE BATTER: In a large bowl, add the oil, white sugar, brown sugar and baby food. Stir until combined. Add the eggs, one a time, to the mixture. Stir each egg into the mixture completely before adding each additional egg. Add the vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice into the mixture. Add the baking powder and flour to the mixture, stirring until just combined. Stir in the milk.

3

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in 325-degree oven for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out without raw batter on it.

4

Remove baked cake from oven and set on a wire rack to cool. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20-minutes before turning cake out onto wire rack. Allow cake to cool completely before adding the icing.

5

PREPARE ICING: In a small bowl, add the butter. Melt the butter in the microwave. Once melted, remove the bowl of butter from the microwave and stir in the water, vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Stir until combined and smooth. If icing is too thick, add hot water in small amounts until desired consistency is reached. If icing is too thin, add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

6

Pour icing over the top of the cake and allow the icing to drip down the sides. Immediately top with granola (optional). Icing will harden quickly.

7

Store cake at room temperature in an airtight container. Cake will stay fresh for several days. Un-iced cake can be wrapped and frozen for 4 weeks.

Notes

To loosen the cake from the bundt pan before turning out, you can use a thin rubber scraper to gently run the rubber scraper down the sides of the pan to help loosen the cake. Turn pan over onto rack to allow cake to come out of the pan.

I used the super yummy Pumpkin Spiced Granola from My Favorite Indulgence to sprinkle on top of my vanilla icing.  The granola seemed perfect for topping this cake with!

This is one hefty cake and will definitely feed a crowd!  It’s the perfect cake to bring to a brunch or for a breakfast meeting at work.

Have you ever baked with baby food before??  I thought this would be a fun recipe for all my mommas out there that might have a pantry full of leftover baby food.  Any sweet baby food could be used in place of the sweet potato baby food I used.  Just adjust the spices you use in the recipe, if pumpkin pie spice doesn’t go with the flavor of baby food you are using.

XOXO,

Kelly

If you would like to purchase the Vain vanilla extract I used in this recipe, click HERE.

PS: you can find this recipe linked up at the following link parties: The Pin Junkie, Pretty Pintastic Party, Sugar and Spice, Monday Meal Plan, Weekend Potluck.

[optin-cat id=”528″]

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22 Comments

  • Reply
    Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
    September 19, 2017 at 8:37 AM

    I love that you make your own dog treats :). Cookie loooooves homemade too! And this cake looks just perfect! I can’t get enough sweet potato. EVER!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      September 20, 2017 at 5:49 AM

      Thanks Kelsie! The sweet potato in this recipe was so yummy! I love candied sweet potatoes in the can too. Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone 😉 XOXO

  • Reply
    Amy
    September 19, 2017 at 9:22 AM

    I love that you used baby food. What a great idea. This cake looks fabulous and I can’t wait to make it.

    • Reply
      Kelly
      September 20, 2017 at 5:50 AM

      Thanks Amy! The baby food was such a great shortcut! Have a wonderful day 🙂 XOXOX

  • Reply
    Ashika | Gardening Foodie
    September 19, 2017 at 11:15 AM

    This cake looks so moist and delicious. I have never baked with pureed baby food before, this is a great idea, and I am going to love trying this out.
    Now how about dropping me a slice of this deliciousness through the screen, a little to the left onto the saucer, next to my coffee!
    Have a great week Kelly!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      September 20, 2017 at 5:51 AM

      Hehehe thanks Ashika! And you got it! Sending a slice your way 🙂 Have a great week too darling! XOXO

  • Reply
    Kat (The Baking Explorer)
    September 19, 2017 at 1:08 PM

    This cake looks so good and perfect for Autumn!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      September 20, 2017 at 5:52 AM

      Thank you Kat!! I am so excited for all the flavors of Fall 🙂 XOXO

  • Reply
    Jill
    September 19, 2017 at 1:14 PM

    Amazing idea! Love the cake! It looks delicious!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      September 20, 2017 at 5:55 AM

      Thank you Jill! Have a great day! XOXO 🙂

  • Reply
    GiGi Eats Celebrities
    September 20, 2017 at 9:38 AM

    I definitely bought sweet potato baby food before cause I thought – AWESOME and EASY SNACKS! But um, by itself…. Uhhh, well no wonder why kids cough it up so often -LOL! BUT BAKED – heck yes!!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      September 21, 2017 at 6:25 PM

      Hahaha yeah, it’s really just pureed sweet potatoes. Smells good, but on it’s own I think ehhh…definitely can bake with it though!! XOXO 🙂

  • Reply
    Maria Doss
    September 22, 2017 at 9:01 AM

    Truth be told, the idea of baby food didn’t intrigue me. But, the fluffiness of the cake is soooooo incredible that I’m way beyond sold!!!!!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      September 23, 2017 at 7:07 AM

      Thanks Maria! I was skeptical of the baby food, but really all the baby food contained was pureed sweet potatoes. So it was just me being too lazy to bake and mash my own sweet potatoes hehehe. This cake is so moist and flavorful! Have a great weekend!

  • Reply
    Amy (Savory Moments)
    September 22, 2017 at 11:33 AM

    I am TOTALLY excited for fall baking! This cake looks truly yummy! I love sweet potatoes, but they don’t seem to get as much love as pumpkins.

    • Reply
      Kelly
      September 23, 2017 at 7:10 AM

      Thanks Amy! I totally agree….I have a few pumpkin recipes here on the blog, but no sweet potato recipes. I had to change that! Sweet potatoes taste similar to pumpkins to me. I might need to make some more sweet potato recipes 🙂 Have a great weekend! XOXO

  • Reply
    Deepika|TheLoveOfCakes
    September 24, 2017 at 4:53 AM

    I have never tried sweet potato in baking! But this moist bundt cake looks great! I need to try this soon..I loved the pumpkin granola on the top! A little crunch goes a long way!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      September 25, 2017 at 6:22 AM

      Thanks Deepika! I love the natural sweetness of sweet potatoes and adding the baby food to the cake made for such a wonderful flavor! Have a great week! XOXO

  • Reply
    marialexander
    September 26, 2017 at 3:21 PM

    This Sweet Potato Bundt Cake looks awesome! My mother (age 93) loves anything made with sweet potatoes. I’m going to save the recipe and take it to her. We may make it!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      September 28, 2017 at 6:05 AM

      Awesome!! I hope you make it! Everyone really loved it, so I think your mother would really like it too 🙂 XOXO

  • Reply
    donnabrookmyer
    October 3, 2017 at 6:47 PM

    I have used banana baby food to make banana bread before but never made anything with sweet potatoes. Your cake looks delicious!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      October 4, 2017 at 6:47 AM

      Thank you!! I like your idea of using banana baby food in banana bread! The baby food just keeps the cakes so moist 🙂 Have a great week! XOXO

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