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–+ servings
Sweet potato chocolate cake on plate with two slices taken out.

Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake

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This sweet potato chocolate cake is delightfully soft and moist with lots of rich chocolate flavor. It's less sweet than a classic chocolate cake, and is sweetened with your choice of maple syrup or regular sugar.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, Vegan
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 12 serves
Author Anthea

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups (190g) all-purpose plain flour spoon and leveled (note 1 for gluten-free)
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar (note 2 for maple syrup version)
  • ½ cup (50g) dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder optional but adds depth of flavor
  • Pinch of salt optional

Wet ingredients

  • 1 x (~220g) large sweet potato or 2 small sweet potatoes, chopped (weighed after peeling)
  • 1 ¼ cups (315g) dairy-free milk room temperature
  • ⅓ cup (85g) neutral flavored oil
  • 3 tablespoons (30g) melted vegan chocolate
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar optional
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional

Chocolate ganache frosting (optional)

Sweet potato frosting

Instructions

Make the sweet potato puree:

  • Steam or boil the sweet potato for 10-15 minutes, or until tender. Let the sweet potato cool.
  • Puree the cooked sweet potato with a handheld blender or food processor until smooth. The puree should be thick. If it's too thick for your appliance, add some plant-based milk from the recipe and blend again. You'll need around 3/4 cup (165g) of pureed sweet potato for the cake. Set aside any remaining puree for the frosting.

Prepare the cake:

  • Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
  • Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix until very well combined. Add all the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix until just combined. Some lumps are fine, as long as there are no pockets of flour or wet ingredients.
  • Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes in your preheated oven or until you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out mostly clean (a few moist crumbs are fine). Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Make the frosting (while the cake is baking and cooling), optional:

  • Heat the cream in a small saucepan on the stovetop or in the microwave until it is steaming. Remove from the heat then mix in the chocolate. Let the mixture sit for 3 minutes to soften the chocolate.
  • Stir the mixture until the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth ganache. Let the ganache cool at room temperature for 1-2 hours. You can also let it set in the fridge, but it won't set evenly.
  • Once it has cooled, beat it with an electric mixer until it's fluffy and lighter in color.

Make the sweet potato frosting (optional):

  • In a small bowl, mix the sweet potato puree and sweetener until combined. For a thicker frosting, use the mixture as is. For a runnier icing, add a dash of milk and mix again.
  • When the cake has fully cooled, top with the cake with the chocolate ganache and sweet potato frosting. Cut the cake and serve!
  • Store leftover cake can be in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day, in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. If the ganache firms up in the fridge, use a warm knife to cut the cake (you can warm up your knife by holding it under running hot water).

Notes

  1. This cake works well with King Arthur's measure for measure gluten-free flour without any other changes. Other gluten-free flour blends may produce different results.
  2. To make this cake with maple syrup, use 2/3 cup (225g) of maple syrup and reduce the dairy-free milk to 3/4 cup (190g). Add the maple syrup at the same time as the wet ingredients.
  3. I used a pourable liquid cream for the ganache. Coconut cream results in a thicker ganache so I recommend adding an extra dash of milk or cream for a more spreadable frosting.