Sweet Potato Coffee Cake

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There’s something about the holidays that make us all itch to get into the kitchen and bake. Sweet Potato Coffee Cake is a tried and true breakfast cake that isn’t too sweet. It has loads of sweet potato flavor and is best enjoyed while it’s warm, making it ideal for a cold morning.

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high angled view of Sweet Potato Coffee Cake on a purple napkin

The secret ingredient, Crisco® vegetable oil, ensures that this coffee cake will stay moist. Whether you make this coffee cake for breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack, I’m certain you will enjoy it.


Sweet Potato Coffee Cake recipe highlights:

  • This coffee cake gets its ultimate tender crumb from Crisco® Pure Vegetable Oil.
  • The cake is lightly sweetened to balance the extra sweet streusel topping and glaze.
  • You can serve this coffee cake for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.
slice of Sweet Potato Coffee Cake on a white plate

I’m always inspired to make breakfast during the holiday season. There’s just something about whipping up a warm, cozy breakfast for the family that has traveled halfway across the US to celebrate with us. Everyone’s morning will be much happier with the scent of sweet potato coffee cake in the air.

Coffee cake should be a breakfast staple in your kitchen. And this recipe is the one you need in your repertoire. The batter is thick and packed full of mashed sweet potato. It bakes up tall and fluffy. Crisco® vegetable oil is used in place of butter to yield an impeccably moist cake. It adds to the wonderfully lush texture that practically melts in your mouth.

I chose Crisco® brand because it is the only brand of vegetable oil I use. You really can’t beat the quality. And if you are lucky, you can catch it on sale at your local Publix. Look at that deal! It’s a fantastic bargain.

Crisco at Publix

The streusel is made with brown sugar, white sugar, flour, oats, pecans, cinnamon, and butter. The butter melts during baking and blends with the sugars to create a wonderfully crunchy topping. And it’s a super thick layer of topping.

If you’re not into the whole cake for breakfast idea, you can enjoy it as an after dinner snack. The glaze adds enough extra sweetness that you could certainly get away with serving sweet potato coffee cake for dessert.

side view of a slice of Sweet Potato Coffee Cake

Sweet Potato Coffee Cake

side view of a slice of Sweet Potato Coffee Cake
There’s something about the holidays that make us all itch to get into the kitchen and bake. Sweet Potato Coffee Cake is a tried and true breakfast cake that isn’t too sweet. It has loads of sweet potato flavor and is best enjoyed while it’s warm, making it ideal for a cold morning. The secret ingredient, Crisco vegetable oil, ensures that this coffee cake will stay moist. Whether you make this coffee cake for breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack, I’m certain you will enjoy it.
Jen Sobjack
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Serving Size 10

Ingredients

For the topping

  • ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, packed
  • ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup (32 g) all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup (22 g) quick-cooking oats
  • ¼ cup (28 g) chopped pecans
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ¼ cup (46 g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes

For the cake

  • cup (60 g) vegetable oil
  • ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup (250 g) mashed cooked sweet potato
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups (260 g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ cup (120 ml) milk

For the glaze

  • ½ cup (80 g) confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons milk
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the topping

  • In a small bowl combine the sugars, flour, oats, pecans, and cinnamon. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles peas sized crumbs. set aside.

Make the cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan. In a large mixing bowl, beat the oil and sugar together until well combined.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the sweet potato and vanilla.
  • In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Stir with a whisk. Add half of the flour mixture to the oil and sugar. Stir to combine. Gradually add the milk followed by the remaining flour mixture.
  • Mix until well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
  • Remove the sides of the pan and top the cake with glaze.

Make the glaze

  • Whisk all the ingredients together until smooth.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 307kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 219mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 2100IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 2mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

7 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Wonderful! Very moist and satisfying. You gave the calories but not the rest of the nutritional values. Please share. Thank you!

  2. This cake is so delicious, so moist and flavorful! We loved it! Will definitely be making it again!

  3. Allan Rienstra says:

    4 stars
    Hey Jen, I’ll try your recipe for sweet potato coffee cake. Just one question. What am I to do with the 1 cup of sweet potato mash?

    1. Jen Sobjack says:

      That would be helpful, wouldn’t it? You’ll add it to the batter with the vanilla. I’ve updated the instructions to reflect this.

  4. Allan Rienstra says:

    4 stars
    Hey Jen, I’ll try your recipe for sweet potato coffee cake. Just one question. What am I to do with the 1 cup of sweet potato mash?

  5. 5 stars
    This is such a genius idea!

  6. 5 stars
    This is such a genius idea!

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