This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Sweet Potato Coffee Cake is perfect for this time of year
It is a little difficult to find fresh in-season food to cook with this of year. Sweet potatoes are a great choice though. Properly stored sweet potatoes actually taste better now than they do in the fall. That makes this Sweet Potato Coffee Cake very seasonal, not to mention very tasty.
What is coffee cake?
For starters, it doesn’t usually have coffee in it. Instead, you drink coffee with it. Coffee Cake is usually sweet, though not as sweet as a layer cake. It’s leavened with baking powder, baking powder, or both. Sour cream is always a good idea, for the little touch of tanginess, and because works well with the leavening to give a nice rise, and retains a satisfying level of moisture. For my money, it nearly always has a ribbon of tasty filling, plus a topping that gets kind of crunchy. I really, really like coffee cake. Obviously.
It’s not hard to make
It may seem complicated because there are layers, but most of this version goes in one bowl, so there are not a lot of dishes to do. When I plan to make it, I bake an extra sweet potato when I’m making dinner and it hangs out in the fridge until I’m ready to bake. It takes just a moment to mash it up and get on with the rest of the recipe.
The “creaming” method
I seem to be in teaching mode lately. Recently, I explained the “Biscuit Method” in my Irish Soda Bread recipe. Before that, it was the “Muffin Method” in my Coconut Lime Mini Muffins. This coffee cake utilizes the “Creaming Method”. This means that the fat and sugar in a recipe are blended together until they are light and fluffy, before adding additional ingredients. In the case of this recipe, after creaming together the butter and sugars, you thoroughly beat in the sour cream and sweet potato, before adding the dry ingredients.
A neat short-cut to save on dishwashing
I’m not crazy about doing extra dishes if I don’t have to. For some cake recipes, you would want to whisk together all of your dry ingredients in a separate bowl, before adding them to the creamed mixture. The amount of fat in this type of cake prevents too much gluten from forming, which would give you a tough texture. So all of the dry ingredients can be mixed right in the batter at once.
What kind of mixer?
I used a hand mixer for this coffee cake, but a stand mixer is probably even easier. And, of course, if you don’t own a mixer at all, you can make it entirely with hand mixing. A little more work, but definitely doable. Just make sure that whatever way you choose to mix it up, you’re scraping down the sides of the bowl, so that all of the ingredients are totally combined.
A few steps to get done at the beginning
I did say that this is a pretty easy treat to make, but it’s not without its fiddly bits. It uses pecans, and any nuts used in baking should be toasted first. I buy them in bulk, toast the whole package, and then freeze the toasted nuts if I’m not going to use them up right away. Toasting brings out the richness and crunch. In this cake, you want to lightly toast them, so they don’t get too dark during baking. You can also make the topping before you get started on the batter, and then it’s ready when you need it.
Making the layers
I like to make this cake in a springform pan [see the equipment section, below], but you can use a 9 x 13 pan if that is what you prefer. Once everything is mixed, put half of the batter in the pan. Then sprinkle over half of the topping. Add the second layer of batter, trying to keep the layer below intact as much as possible. [This is easier in a springform pan for sure, because the layers are thicker. I prefer a spring form pan, but I want to make sure you know you can still make this Sweet Potato Coffee Cake, even if you don’t have one. You could even divide everything between two round cake pans if that is all you have.] Top the batter with the chopped pecans, and finally spread the remainder of the topping over the nuts.
Putting the nuts under the final layer of topping helps ensure they don’t burn.
How to make Sweet Potato Coffee Cake
Ok – let’s make this, shall we?
Sweet Potato Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Struesel/Topping
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup, packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch kosher salt
Batter
- 1/2 cup soft butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Generously butter the springform pan. To make sure it's easy to remove the bottom, after baking cut a piece of parchment paper into a circle, and place it in the bottom of the pan.
Make the streusel/topping
- In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients, until uniformly mixed. Set aside.
Make the batter
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Scraping down the sides if needed, beat until very fluffy and paler in color.
- Beat in the eggs also until very fluffy.
- Beat in the sour cream, sweet potato, and vanilla, until very well combined and creamy.
- Beat in the baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
- Beat in the flour, until well combined - scrape sides of bowl as needed.
- Place half of the batter in the prepared pan, leveling out with a spatula or rubber scraper. Sprinkle half of the topping mixture over the batter.
- Evenly spread the remaining batter over the topping layer, taking care not to mix the layers together.
- Evenly distribute the chopped nuts over the batter, and finally the remaining topping mixture.
- Bake for approximately an hour, checking for doneness at about 50 minutes. A toothpick inserted near the center should come out completely clean. It is better to leave it baking for a few extra minutes, rather than having it be underdone. It's not going to dry out. A 9 x 13 pan will be done in probably about 45 minutes.
- Set the cake on on cooling rack, removing the springform ring after about 5 minutes.
- When ready to serve, use an offset spatula, or a long, thin knife, to remove the pan bottom and place the cake on a plate. You can leave the springform bottom on the cake, but I don't like to get mine scratched up, so I take it off.
- Cut into wedges to serve. You can, as I did, mix some cream and 10x sugar together to make a drizzle to serve with it.
Notes
No need to wait for this cool before diving in. It is best when it’s at least slightly warm.
I would not put this drizzle [10x sugar and enough cream to make it pourable: 1 cup sugar and a couple tablespoons of cream] over the whole cake, because it will sink into the topping. Mix some up and have it in a little pitcher to be added when serving.
The Best Homemade Granola
Apple Butter Caramel Bars
Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts
Blueberry Ginger Buttermilk Cake
Coconut Lime Mini Muffins
Easy Rhubarb Cake
Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies
Almond Shortbread
Rhubarb Kuchen
Anadama Cinnamon Rolls
This was one great tasting coffee cake made with sweet potatoes. Perfect pair with my coffee for an afternoon treat!
Thanks Janie – so glad that you enjoyed it!
OMG turned out so moist. Was a hit with the kids and hubby too.
Thanks for letting me know, Justine and glad everyone enjoyed it 🙂
This fabulous coffee cake made with sweet potatoes is calling my name. It looks and sounds delicious.
Thank you Andrea – I hope you get the chance to try it!
The sweet potato added a unique flavor and moistness to the cake that was just perfect. The streusel topping added a nice crunch. Definitely making this again.
Thanks Gianne! 😀
This cake was so easy, delicious, and moist! Perfect little treat for fall!
Thank you Kerri – so glad that you enjoyed it ♥
What a fantastic looking and sounding coffee cake. The sweet potato gives this cake a nice texture and sweetness. It’s a perfect cake for breakfast, a snack or dessert.
I agree Kathleen – thank you!
This is my new favorite coffee cake recipe! The flavor is excellent and it’s so moist!
Glad you enjoyed it Tayler!
Delicious! I’d never made a cake with sweet potato before and this went SO well with the coffee
I agree Harriet – so yummy with a cup of coffee!
Just made it and had some with my masala chai – it was soo good! I think this will make a great breakfast treat too.
Thanks Lima – I agree that a cup of chai would be perfect!
This looks so interesting! I don’t often think of sweet potatoes when I think of coffee cake, but I’m a huge fan of sweet potato pie, so I’m excited to try this out.
I hope that you enjoy it Chenee 🙂
Oh my gosh, was this ever delicious!
Thanks! ♥
This is fabulous! I’ve had sweet potato in all kinds of pies and casseroles, but this was the first time I ever had it in coffee cake. It’s amazing!
I agree, Beth – thanks for letting me know!
Love this Sweet Potato Coffee Cake recipe, so delicious, fluffy, and healthy!! my family could not believe it had sweet potato. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks Elisa – glad to hear you liked it!
First time trying sweet potato coffee cake and this recipe did not disappoint! Light, fluffy and just the perfect combination of flavours. Thank you.
Thank you Angela – so glad that you enjoyed it!
I made this coffee cake this morning and it was delicious! My kids loved it too!
That is good to hear, Tayler – thank you!
This was such a unique and unexpected recipe that does not disappoint! Was light, fluffy and delicious; definitely a new favorite recipe!
thank you, Sara!
This sweet potato coffee cake had unbelievably good texture and flavor! Looking forward to making it again this Fall!
I’m glad that you enjoyed it Paula ♥
What a unique combination of flavors! I was skeptical at first, but I love to try new flavor combinations and this turned out surprisingly delicious. My husband asked me to make it again for Easter.
Thanks, Holly – so glad that you enjoyed the coffee cake!