Merciful God, You are great in compassion and Your tenderness for us is without measure. We ask You to give us today our daily bread, and also provide for the needs of all of Your hungry children around the world. Through Christ Your Son and Our Lord. Amen.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Orange-Scented Sweet Potato Cake


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On Palm Sunday I was looking for something to bake for dessert, and I had a hankerin' for cake. I really have no idea how I found it, but I was clicking around on the internet and stumbled upon this recipe. The Dutch Baker's Daughter certainly made it sound appetizing and I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, or so I thought. I found, in the midst of it (shame on me) that I did not have cake flour, so I modifed the recipe to use all-purpose flour, just less of it. It was a very tasty cake, but I did not achieve that light, moist texture that Cathy achieved. It was very moist, and very tasty, but dense, like a traditional pound cake would be. The orange scent (and taste) was scrumptious and I will definitely make it again. I'm actually anxious to try it with the cake flour to see the difference. I also omitted the cardamom because it's not my favorite flavor -- I don't think it missed anything extra.

I also glazed mine with an orange-ginger powdered sugar glaze -- you could just dust it with powdered sugar if you like.


Orange Scented Sweet Potato Pound Cake


1 cup butter, softened
1½ cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
¾ cup cooked, mashed sweet potatoes (2 medium sweet potatoes)
2 T. orange juice
½ t. powdered ginger
2½ cups cake flour (sub 2 cups all-purpose for a more dense cake)
1½ t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
½ cup milk
freshly zested peel of one orange



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour bundt or tube pan (original recipe calls for two 8 x 4 loaf pans).

Cream the butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar, beating at low speed, then increase the mixer speed to high and beat until pale and fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl sides after each addition. After all eggs are in, beat several minutes at high speed until the mixture is smooth and very pale. Beat in the sweet potatoes, vanilla, and orange juice.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and ginger. Beating at low speed, add the dry ingredients in thirds, alternating with the milk. Stir in the orange peel.

Pour the batter into bundt pan. Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack before removing from pan. Cool completely before glazing.

Glaze


2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
3 T. orange juice
1/2 t. ginger

Combine glaze ingredients in small bowl; stir until smooth. Add more orange juice if necessary to achieve a glaze that you can drizzle over the cake.

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2 comments:

Janina said...

This looks amazing! Making this tonight! Thank you for the wonderful recipe! ^_^

Sasa said...

I made this twice today with slight amendment. I use 1tsp grated fresh ginger instead of powder for the cake & glaze. Brought one to a home party this afternoon and it was a hit! Thank you for sharing this simple yet delicious recipe!