Make Ahead

Sweet Potato Cake with Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting

by:
April 27, 2019
5
2 Ratings
Sweet Potato Cake with Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting
Photo by Lauren
  • Prep time 15 minutes
  • Cook time 30 minutes
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

This vegan sweet potato cake is moist, sweet, and spicy, which reminds me of fall. The thickness and texture of the frosting are almost cheesecake-like. The key is to spread a thick layer of the frosting on top of the cake. Don't be shy.

This recipe is adapted from "the Emotional Baker"'s sweet potato cake recipe. There have been some adjustments made. —Lauren

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Cake
  • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice mix, or cinnamon powder
  • 3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup neutral oil such as canola
  • 1/2 cup sweet potato puree
  • 2/3 cup almond milk, or any other non-dairy milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours
  • 3 tablespoons sugar, honey, or maple syrup
  • 1-3 tablespoons almond milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spice mix together thoroughly until there is no lump. Set aside.
  3. In a larger bowl, mix brown sugar and oil together until the sugar has almost melted and looks fluffy. Add in the sweet potato puree, non-dairy milk, and vanilla extract, and stir.
  4. Fold in the dry ingredients into wet and mix until lumps are no longer visible.
  5. Pour the cake batter into the baking pan.
  6. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes (insert a toothpick in the center to check if the cake is done).
  7. Once the pan is cool, take the cake out and chill until it is cool enough to put the frosting on. This is important as we don't want the frosting to be warm and melted.
  8. For the frosting, add all of the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Add more milk as needed, taste, and add more sweetener as desired.
  9. Once the cake has cooled, spoon the frosting on top, spread, and decorate it with whatever nuts, seeds, dried fruits you have in your pantry.
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1 Review

Nancy
Nancy September 13, 2023
For those concerned about not using animal products in production of ingredients.

Brown sugar may or may not be vegan, as it is made from white sugar, which is in turn refined using animal bone products. For more info, read the package labels when you buy.

Maple syrup likewise. Though not required to be on the label, most is produced using pork fat in a final refining process. If you want vegan maple syrup, buy one with a kosher label (many out there - for example, OU or MK are common in US).

Honey - made from bees, though not by killing them. So some consider it vegan and some don’t. An alternate sweetener - agave syruo.