Spiced Sweet Potato Cake

At our Thanksgiving dinner this year, my niece made the recipe I’m sharing today.  She found it in a back issue of Bon Appetit, circa 2000.  This cake is good on so many levels.  First, it isn’t  hard or complicated to make.  Second, it smells absolutely heavenly while it’s baking.  Third, it looks beautiful on the table.  Fourth, it tastes incredible on the day it is cooked, and even better on the second day,  and there won’t be any left after that.  Guaranteed.  Make this for someone you love sometime during this holiday season.  You won’t be sorry—and no, I won’t give you my niece’s number so she can come cook for you—she’s mine, all mine.

Spiced Sweet Potato Cake with Brown Sugar Icing

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
2 ¾ cups flour
2 t. ground cinnamon
1 ¼ t. ground ginger
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
½ t salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract

For the Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
½ cup whipping cream
¼ cup butter
¼ t vanilla

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Thoroughly grease a 12 cup Bundt pan.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  In a large mixing bowl combine the sweet potatoes, oil, and sugar.  Beat until smooth.  Add eggs two at a time, beating well between each addition.  Add the flour mixture and beat until just blended.  Add the vanilla and mix to incorporate.  Transfer the batter to the Bundt pan.  Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a cake tester comes out mostly clean.  Cool the cake in the pan for about 15 minutes, then invert onto a cake platter.

For the icing, sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl.  In a small saucepan, stir

the brown sugar, cream, and butter on med-low heat until the sugar dissolves.  Increase the heat to a boil.  Boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.  Pour the mixture over the powdered sugar and whisk until it is smooth and lightened in color.  Cool the icing until it is lukewarm and falls in thick ribbons from the whisk.  Spoon over the cake allowing the icing to flow slowly down the sides.