Hello, friends! I am so excited to be sharing this gorgeous cake with you today. I have been wanting to make an unusual recipe with the sweet potato + marshmallow combo for ever, and I just love how this came out! I present to you... sweet potato layer cake with marshmallow buttercream! Oh, yes. I love pumpkin stuff just as much as the next person {maybe more, honestly}, but every fall season, I just can't get over the fact that sweet potatoes never get the love they deserve, especially when it comes to desserts. I made some sweet potato cookies last year, and now, cake! You're gonna love this.
The funny thing about sweet potatoes is that they're super similar both in taste and texture to pumpkin, especially when it comes to baked goods. So switching one out of the other is a super simple way to mix it up! This recipe starts with a spiced sweet potato cake that's rich and dense, and is stuffed with a light and fluffy 5-minute marshmallow buttercream that is to-die-for. I'm honestly not a big fan of the classic thanksgiving side dish, but I will happily admit yams and marshmallows are the perfect combination!
I decided to change it up a little with this cake, and experiment with naked cake style decorating. It was surprisingly easy and it actually turned out so cute! All I did was cut my two 6-inch cakes in half, and stuffed each layer with a big round decorating tip {I used Wilton's 2A}, just going around the edges and piping small circles. I actually just spread the filling in the center where you couldn't see 😉 Then for the top, I used the same tip and just squeezed and pulled straight up! It's much easier said than done, I promise it really wasn't difficult at all. I love the way it turned out!
{cake recipe adapted from Cooking Classy, frosting recipe from Butter with a Side of Bread}
- *for the cake*
- 1¾ cups mashed sweet potato {about 2 medium yams}
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin spice mix
- 1¼ cups white sugar
- ¾ cups brown sugar
- ½ cup {1 stick} unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cups whole milk
- pinch of salt
- *for the frosting*
- 1 cup {2 sticks} unsalted butter, softened
- 1 7oz jar marshmallow creme
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoon milk
- First, make the cakes. Heat the oven to 350F, and grease & flour 4 6-inch cake pans {or 3 9-inch pans}.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in the oil. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating until each addition, and finally stir in the vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the mashed sweet potato and milk until smooth.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin spice.
- Add half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, and mix until combined. Add in the mashed sweet potato mixture and mix again, then add in the remaining dry ingredients.
- Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans, and bake for 40-45 minutes for 6-inch pans, or 30-35 minutes for 9-inch pans.
- Let cakes cool slightly, then remove from pans and let cool completely before frosting.
- When ready to make the frosting, beat the softened butter and marshmallow creme in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and salt, then beat in the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time. Finally, add in milk until the frosting is as stiff or soft as needed!
- Frost cake as desired, and serve!
Leave a Reply