This high altitude sweet potato layer cake is made with nutty brown butter and roasted sweet potatoes, frosted with salted maple buttercream and crunchy toasted pecans. With a texture and flavor similar to pumpkin cake, this sweet potato cake makes a wonderful fall dessert.
You might also love these recipes for sweet potato crumb muffins, sweet potato pecan crumble pie, and sweet potato dinner rolls.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Stays Moist and Soft for Days. This sweet potato cake stays incredibly moist for days after baking, so the leftover cake is just as wonderful.
Concentrated Sweet Potato Flavor. The way to get a really sweet, concentrated flavor in the cooked sweet potatoes is to bake or roast them whole in their skin. They have an almost caramelized flavor after roasting, giving the cake the most delicious sweet potato flavor.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes. You’ll be roasting the sweet potatoes first, until they are soft and creamy, then pureeing them for a perfectly smooth texture that’s very similar to canned pumpkin. See my sweet potato casserole post for the best type of sweet potatoes to buy.
- Spices. I love lots of fall spices in this cake, such as cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and allspice.
- Maple Extract. To flavor the buttercream, you’ll need maple extract (not maple syrup). A little of the extract will add a strong maple flavor, that’s lovely with a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness of the buttercream.
- Pecans. The crunchy pecans add texture to complement the soft cake. I love to toast the pecans, but you can go a step further and make maple glazed pecans.
Instructions
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Wash the sweet potatoes, but don’t peel them. Rub the peel with the olive oil, then wrap the potatoes in aluminum foil and place them on a baking sheet.
- Roast the sweet potatoes for 90 minutes, until very soft.
- Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove and discard the peel.
- Puree the roasted sweet potatoes in a food processor until very smooth. Weigh out 15 ounces for the cake, and save the rest for another recipe.
- You can make the sweet potatoes up to 2 days in advance, keeping them in the refrigerator until needed.
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray the bottoms of two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans with nonstick baking spray. Line the bottoms of the pans with circles of parchment paper, and spray the paper, too.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan occasionally, until the surface of the butter begins to foam and nutty, golden brown solids have formed at the bottom of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat, and scrape the butter and browned bits into a large mixing bowl. Let cool for 5 minutes.
- To the bowl of browned butter, add the pureed sweet potato, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla extract, and whisk until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and whisk until just combined. Divide the batter between the prepared pans.
- Bake two 8 inch layers for about 30-35 minutes, and two 9 inch layers for about 25-30 minutes. When the cake is done, a cake tester or sharp knife inserted should come out clean, or with moist crumbs clinging to it. Don’t under-bake, or the cake can end up too moist and overly dense.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the sides of the cake, turn the cake out onto a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting. Peel the parchment paper off the bottoms of the cakes before frosting.
Frosting
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for one minute until smooth.
- On low speed, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder, salt and extracts. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Turn the speed down to “stir” and mix for one more minute.
- If toasting the pecans, let them cool completely before assembling the cake. These maple glazed pecans are fantastic with sweet potato cake. Chop about 1/2-2/3 of the pecans and leave the rest whole for decorating.
- Place one of the cake layers on a cake pedestal or decorating turntable. If necessary, slice off a thin layer of the top of the cake if it’s domed.
- Spread a layer of buttercream onto the first layer of cake, then sprinkle with some of the chopped pecans. Stack the second layer of cake on top, and frost all over with a thin “crumb coat” of buttercream. Chill for 15 minutes.
- Frost the cake all over with a final coat of buttercream, and decorate with the rest of the pecans.
Recipe Variations
- Three Layer 8-Inch Cake. Divide the cake batter between three 8-inch pans instead of two, for slightly thinner layers. These will need to bake for a few minutes less.
- Three Layer 9-Inch Cake. Increase the cake recipe by 1 1/2 times and divide the batter between three 9-inch cake pans.
- 6-Inch Cake. For a smaller cake, cut the cake recipe in half and bake the batter in two or three 6-inch round cake pans. If using two pans, they should have a 3-inch depth.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store the leftover cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
For toasted or maple glazed pecans, see this recipe for sweet potato cupcakes.
You Might Also Like
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High Altitude Sweet Potato Layer Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- 2 8 or 9 inch Round Cake Pans
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- Food Processor or Ninja
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 medium to large sweet potatoes (you'll need 15 ounces roasted and pureed sweet potato)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
Frosting
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder (optional)
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp maple extract
- 1 cup pecans, toasted (see notes)
Instructions
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Wash the sweet potatoes, but don't peel them. Rub the peel with the olive oil, then wrap the potatoes in aluminum foil and place them on a baking sheet.
- Roast the sweet potatoes for 90 minutes, until very soft.
- Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove and discard the peel.
- Puree the roasted sweet potatoes in a food processor until very smooth. Weigh out 15 ounces for the cake, and save the rest for another recipe.
- You can make the sweet potatoes up to 2 days in advance, keeping them in the refrigerator until needed.
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly spray the bottoms of two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans with nonstick baking spray. Line the bottoms of the pans with circles of parchment paper, and spray the paper, too.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan occasionally, until the surface of the butter begins to foam and nutty, golden brown solids have formed at the bottom of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat, and scrape the butter and browned bits into a large mixing bowl. Let cool for 5 minutes.
- To the bowl of browned butter, add the pureed sweet potato, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla extract, and whisk until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and whisk until just combined. Divide the batter between the prepared pans.
- Bake two 8 inch layers for about 30-35 minutes, and two 9 inch layers for about 25-30 minutes. When the cake is done, a cake tester or sharp knife inserted should come out clean, or with moist crumbs clinging to it. Don't under-bake, or the cake can end up too moist and overly dense.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the sides of the cake, turn the cake out onto a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting. Peel the parchment paper off the bottoms of the cakes before frosting.
Frosting
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for one minute until smooth.
- On low speed, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder, salt and extracts. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Turn the speed down to "stir" and mix for one more minute.
- If toasting the pecans, let them cool completely before assembling the cake. These maple glazed pecans are fantastic with sweet potato cake. Chop about 1/2-2/3 of the pecans and leave the rest whole for decorating.
- Place one of the cake layers on a cake pedestal or decorating turntable. If necessary, slice off a thin layer of the top of the cake if it's domed.
- Spread a layer of buttercream onto the first layer of cake, then sprinkle with some of the chopped pecans. Stack the second layer of cake on top, and frost all over with a thin "crumb coat" of buttercream. Chill for 15 minutes.
- Frost the cake all over with a final coat of buttercream, and decorate with the rest of the pecans.
Notes
- Store the leftover cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- For toasted or maple glazed pecans, see this recipe for sweet potato cupcakes.
- For a 3-layer 8-inch cake, divide the cake batter between three 8-inch pans instead of two, for slightly thinner layers. These will need to bake for a few minutes less.
- For a 3-layer 9-inch cake, increase the cake recipe by 1 1/2 times and divide the batter between three 9-inch cake pans.
- For a smaller cake, cut the cake recipe in half and bake the batter in two or three 6-inch round cake pans.
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Excellent! Everyone loved this cake. Commenting that it was moist & delicious. They were surprised that it was sweet potato. Many thought it was a cross between a carrot & spice cake. I live in No. Eastern Nevada at 6000’ ft and these recipes work great here
I’m so glad you loved it!