Sweet Potato–Olive Oil Cake
 
 
Makes 1 (10-inch) cake
Ingredients
  • Cake:
  • ¾ pound sweet potatoes
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1¾ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1½ teaspoons Himalayan pink salt
  • 1⅓ cups extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • 1 medium orange, juiced
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup bourbon
  • Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
  • Topping:
  • 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
  • 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar (optional)
  • 2 teaspoons bourbon (optional)
  • ½ teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Place a 10-inch seasoned cast-iron pan in preheated oven.
  2. For cake: In a large saucepan, cover potatoes with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook until tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and peel potatoes; transfer potatoes to the work bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice, and salt, and set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, whisk together the sweet potato purée, olive oil, eggs, orange zest and juice, vanilla, and bourbon. Add flour mixture to potato mixture, stirring just until combined but not overmixed. Carefully pour mixture into preheated skillet. Place skillet on a baking sheet.
  5. Bake on middle rack of oven until a wooden pick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool completely in pan. Dust cake with confectioners’ sugar.
  6. For topping: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat cold cream at high speed until soft peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar (if using), bourbon (if using), and orange zest, beating until desired consistency. Serve immediately.
Notes
• TIA AND MATTHEW’S TIPS •
We find that unsweetened whipped cream offers a nice balance to this dish, however, you can adjust the sweetness to your liking.
Recipe by Southern Cast Iron at https://southerncastiron.com/chefs-table-tia-matthew-raiford/