sweet potato cake
There seems to always be a period of autumn where, no matter what we do, we’ll always have at least one sweet potato knocking about in the kitchen. After rattling our way through all of out go-to recipes, I thought it might be time to try something new. Knowing how well pumpkin works in the classic pumpkin pie, I could think of no reason why sweet potato couldn’t be used in a similar way.
I decided to make use of the ingredients we had available and to see what happened. The result was this, slightly sweet, slightly spiced, perfectly autumnal cake that has all the flavours of a pumpkin pie, but the texture of a baked cheesecake.
It’s wonderful just as it is, but you could add a little crunch by chopping up some walnuts and sprinkling them over the top.
for the cake
2 large sweet potatoes (500g when cooked)
90g melted butter
6 large eggs
200g dark brown sugar
50ml maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
0.5 tsp turmeric
0.25 tsp salt
400ml coconut milk
125g plain flour
method
Start by baking the sweet potatoes whole, until they are completely soft in the middle. Depending on the size, this should be around 45 minutes on 200c.
Take them out of the oven, let them cool and then peel off all the skin. This can be done in advanced if you so wish, the cooked sweet potato will last for a day or so in the fridge.
When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 180c.
Melt 90g of butter and blend with the maple syrup and 500g of the cooked sweet potato until smooth.
Whisk in the eggs, sugar, salt and spices until it is smooth again.
Next, add in the coconut milk and flour, and fold it in until it’s completely incorporated, with no visible streaks of flour.
Get yourself a 9” baking tin (at least 2” tall if possible) and line it with baking paper. Try to have the parchment paper come about an inch above the top of the tin, to allow for the cake to crow whilst baking.
Place the lined baking tin on a baking tray and pour in the batter. Bake for around an hour, until the cake is golden round the edges and completely set in the middle.
Allow the cake to cool whilst in the tin, then chill it in the fridge for at least 6 hours (overnight if possible).
Remove it from the tin after chilling, and serve.
