Sweet Potato Pound Cake

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 60 mins
Total: 75 mins
Servings: 10 to 12 servings

Whether you're looking for a way to use leftover cooked sweet potato or want to find a cake recipe with a little twist, this sweet potato pound cake is a great choice. Mashed sweet potato, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, buttermilk, and pecans combine with traditional pound cake ingredients to make a moist and flavorful cake with a little bit of crunch.

This delicious sweet potato pound cake can be made in a Bundt pan or tube cake pan. The cake is brushed with melted butter and dusted with a light coating of powdered sugar for the perfect finishing touch.

Sweet Potato Pound Cake

The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

"The cake itself is easy and straightforward. I was careful not to overmix and pulled it from the oven right at the 55-minute mark. It came out beautifully fluffy, with a cinnamon-spice flavor perfect for fall. It requires some make-ahead work if you don't have leftovers." —Patty Lee

A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups mashed sweet potato (canned or homemade)
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour (stir lightly before measuring)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk (well shaken)
  • 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
  • For the Topping:
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Sweet potato pound cake ingredients

    The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

  2. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt cake pan or a tube cake pan.

    Greased Bundt cake pan

    The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

  3. In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

    Beat the butter and sugars together in a bowl

    The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

  4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and sweet potato until well blended.

    batter with eggs in a bowl

    The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

  5. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices; use a whisk or spoon to blend the dry ingredients.

    Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices

    The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

  6. Adding a little at a time, stir the flour mixture into the batter, alternating with the buttermilk, until blended. Do not overmix.

    batter and flour mixture, mixed together in a bowl

    The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

  7. Fold in the chopped pecans. Spoon the batter into the prepared Bundt cake pan or tube cake pan.

    batter with pecans in a prepared Bundt cake pan

    The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

  8. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. 

    baked sweet potato pound cake in a bundt pan

    The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

  9. Cool cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Carefully invert the cake onto the rack to cool completely.

    sweet potato pound cake on a cooling rack

    The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

  10. Transfer the cake to a serving plate, brush all over with the melted butter, and then dust with the powdered sugar.

    Sweet Potato Pound Cake with powdered sugar on top

    The Spruce / Stephanie Goldfinger

How Many Sweet Potatoes Is 2 Cups?

For 2 cups of mashed sweet potato, you will need about 1 pound or 3 medium-sized potatoes.

Recipe Variations

  • Orange Glaze: Replace the powdered sugar topping with an orange glaze. Combine 1 cup confectioners' sugar with 1 teaspoon of finely grated orange zest and 1 tablespoon of fresh orange juice. Adjust with more orange juice or powdered sugar as needed for a thin drizzling consistency. Spoon over the cooled cake.
  • Walnut Version: Feel free to use chopped walnuts in place of the pecans.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
251 Calories
15g Fat
28g Carbs
3g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10 to 12
Amount per serving
Calories 251
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 15g 19%
Saturated Fat 6g 32%
Cholesterol 61mg 20%
Sodium 134mg 6%
Total Carbohydrate 28g 10%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Protein 3g
Calcium 53mg 4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)