Recipes: Sweet Potato Praline Cake

I want you to run, not walk, to the grocery store and make this cake as soon as possible.  You may need to run some more after you eat it because it is a calorie fest!!  I made this cake for a friend of mine who was visiting from China.  She won't be here for Thanksgiving so she was really hoping to have some holiday and fall foods and this cake totally fit the bill!

The one and only picture I took of it was with my terrible phone camera, but the good news is that I have a new phone on the way with a great new camera so that will no longer be my excuse for terrible pictures, ha!



Sweet Potato Praline Cake



Ingredients

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 2 3/4 cup gluten free flour (you can use any blend you like, try mine, or for this recipe I used Better Batter)
• 1 3/4 granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup cooked mashed sweet potato (you can even use canned, but not sweetened!!!)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• Cream cheese frosting and more pecans for the top

Directions

Heat oven to 325.  In a medium sauce pan, stir together butter, cream, and brown sugar.  Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, just until butter is melted. Pour into two ungreased 9- or 8-inch round cake pans; sprinkle evenly with 3/4 cup pecans.

In large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the oil and granulated sugar.  Add the sweet potato, milk, oil and eggs to the beat cake mix, pumpkin, water, oil, and eggs until well mixed.  Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until blended, about 2 minutes. Divide batter evenly over the praline mixture in each pan being careful not to displace the pecans too much.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack (surprisingly it will come right out of the pans easily! Cool completely, about 1 hour.

To finish the cake, frost the first layer (praline side up) with cream cheese frosting on its top only.  Then place the top layer on.  I prefer only to frost the tops of each layer to add to the rustic look of the cake.  Besides, its pretty rich without too much frosting!  Add a few more toasted pecans on top for decoration!  Here is a great cream cheese frosting recipe from Martha, but feel free to sub your own.

Enjoy!!