Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

Definitely make this for Thanksgiving. It is simply delicious- if I do say so myself.

I had family coming over for a pizza party and I wanted to make a dessert. Since I am testing holiday recipes, I bought canned organic sweet potato puree from Trader Joes. 

I wasn’t sure what to do with the puree- I know people usually have one sweet potato dish for Thanksgiving but I wanted to do something different. 

I looked at a bunch of sweet potato recipes online and decided to make a spiced cake with the puree. I used cinnamon, cloves and cardamom powders. It is a fabulous blend of flavors with the sweet potatoes.

I then started thinking about a topping of some kind. Coconut and pecans came to mind. I toasted them and added them to a sugar icing. I also added cinnamon for some extra flavor.

The whole combination is fabulous- really. Give it a try and if you don’t like it let me know why. 

I served the cake to adults and kids- they all loved it. What I loved about it was that it has the same healthy ingredients I always use. I was thrilled with the results and can’t wait for everyone else to try it as well.

• 1 cup pureed sweet potatoes
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup extra light olive oil
• 1 cup turbinado sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 teaspoon powdered cloves
• 1/3 teaspoon powdered cardamom

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour a 9” round pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. In a large bowl of a mixer, add the sugar and oil. Beat till the mixture is creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then add the sweet potatoes and vanilla and mix well. Stir in dry ingredients and pour into the round pan.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until tester is clean. Let cool and then top with the coconut and pecan icing.

Toasted Coconut and Pecan Icing

• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons milk
• ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
• ½ pecans, chopped and toasted

In a small mixing bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon and milk. Whisk well until all ingredients are incorporated and smooth. Add the coconut and pecans. Mix well and pour the mixture on top of the cake. Let it set for at least an hour before serving.