High Altitude Sweet Potato Cupcakes
Sweet potato cupcakes, made with roasted sweet potatoes, frosted with fluffy marshmallow buttercream, and sprinkled with maple glazed pecans.
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
- Muffin Pan
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- Food Processor or Ninja
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 large sweet potato (or 2 medium sweet potatoes)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ¼ cup light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ¾ tsp (scant) baking soda
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp meringue powder
- ⅛ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (6 oz) marshmallow creme or fluff
Pecans
- 1 cup unsalted raw pecans
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
Instructions
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 425 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Lightly rub the sweet potatoes with the olive oil, then wrap in aluminum foil. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, and roast for about 90 minutes, until very tender.
- Let the sweet potatoes cool completely, then remove the peel. Using a food processor or ninja, puree the roasted sweet potatoes until smooth. Measure out 1 cup of pureed sweet potato, and save the rest for something else.
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, position a rack in the center of the oven, and line a standard sized muffin pan with 12 paper liners.TIP: Sweet potato cupcakes are a little sticky, and you may want to lightly spray the paper liners with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, whisk together 1 cup of pureed sweet potato with the brown sugar, granulated sugar, melted butter, oil, eggs, milk and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk just until smooth.
- Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to portion the batter into the pans, filling them about 2/3 - 3/4 full.
- Bake the cupcakes for about 18-22 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly touched, and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Set the pan on a wire cooling rack, and cool for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan, and set on the cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Marshmallow Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for one minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, meringue powder, salt and vanilla. Increase speed to medium, and whip for 3-4 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until light and fluffy. Add the marshmallow creme, and beat until well combined.
- Use a piping bag fitted with tip 1M, or just an icing spatula, to frost the cooled cupcakes.
Maple Glazed Pecans
- Over medium heat, toast the pecans in a non-stick skillet for about 4-5 minutes, until hot and fragrant.
- Add the maple syrup, vanilla and salt, and use a spatula to stir the pecans until coated evenly. Remove from the heat.
- Spread the pecans out onto a plate lined with parchment paper and let cool completely.
- Leave half of the pecans whole, and finely chop the remainder of the pecans. Sprinkle on top of the buttercream.
Notes
Cupcakes should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
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