Everyone knows that pies claim the title for Thanksgiving dessert, but what about Christmas? I always try to mix it up and usually take the opportunity to test out a new winter dessert. This year, I'm going all out and making sweet potato cake with marshmallow meringue. I didn't want to present just a plain sweet potato cake to the family so I decided to top it with a marshmallow meringue. Let me just say, it was the best decision. Moist fluffy cake with caramelized marshmallow meringue? Sign me up for a slice. Or two.
Recipe
Sweet Potato Cake with Marshmallow Meringue
Ingredients
Sweet potato cake
- 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes, about 2 medium potatoes (223 grams)
- 1 cup brown sugar (200 grams)
- ¾ cup vegetable oil (133 grams)
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt (55 grams)
- ¼ cup maple syrup (70 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (243 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
Marshmallow meringue
- 4 large egg whites
- ½ cup brown sugar (100 grams)
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch cake pan.
- Make the sweet potato cake. Peel and cut about 2 medium sweet potatoes. Place in a pot and add enough water to cover the potatoes. Cover the pot, bring to a boil over medium-high heat and continue to cook until the potatoes are fork-tender. Drain and mash the potatoes. Let cool completely.
- Whisk together 1 cup of the sweet mashed potatoes with brown sugar, oil, yogurt, maple syrup, 2 eggs, and vanilla until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined.
- Pour the batter into the greased cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place the cake on a wire rack and let cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the marshmallow meringue. Whisk together 4 egg whites with brown sugar and honey. Heat the egg mixture over a double boiler until the temperature reads 160 degrees F. Transfer the egg whites to a mixing bowl and add the vanilla extract. Beat the mixture with a whisk at high speed for 5-7 minutes or until stiff peaks form.
- Spread the meringue on the sweet potato cake and torch the meringue until lightly browned. Serve immediately.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
You might be wondering to yourself, "But what's so special about sweet potato cake?" Well, if you like pumpkin desserts, chances are that you'll enjoy this sweet potato cake. It's like winter in a bite, I can't describe it any better than that. The warm spices, maple syrup, Greek yogurt, and mashed sweet potatoes all work together to make one incredibly moist and light cake.
Yes, if you caught that sentence, we are making mashed sweet potatoes. You can also swap it out for pumpkin puree if you're a pumpkin purist.
Cool the potatoes completely before adding the remaining ingredients.
Go ahead and whisk the sweet potatoes with the wet ingredients until it's completely smooth. You want the ingredients to be fully incorporated. Once you add the dry ingredients, stir gently, only mixing just until everything is combined. You don't want to overmix the batter because that will work the gluten in the flour and you'll end up with a tough cake.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The edges should be set when the cake is ready.
While the cake is cooling, make the marshmallow meringue. I know some people have a little trouble making meringue but if you have a thermometer, it can be easily done.
Whisk the egg whites with brown sugar and honey over a double boiler. In simpler terms, you want a small pot of simmering water and a heat-safe bowl sitting over the water with the egg whites. The bowl shouldn't be directly touching the water.
Heat the egg whites until the temperature reaches 160 degrees F, whisking occasionally. Transfer the egg whites to a mixing bowl and add the vanilla. Now it's time to whisk the whites until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes. And there you go! Marshmallow meringue ready in minutes. Not too difficult, right?
It may seem like too much meringue but what can I say, I like to go big or go home. Plus the cake isn't too sweet so that meringue compliments it perfectly. Torch the meringue and you are ready to serve this beauty of a cake.
Now it's time to wait and see what the family thinks about this sweet potato cake with marshmallow meringue. Hopefully, they'll enjoy it as much as I did!
For more holiday dessert inspiration check out this cranberry streusel chocolate almond tart!
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