Sweet Potato Apple Cake
I’ll never forget it. I was working in a small marketing firm, our office predominantly female, and one by one, we were following each other down the path of engagement, marriage and babies. Showers were the thing. It was the first baby shower, and in…
I’ll never forget it. I was working in a small marketing firm, our office predominantly female, and one by one, we were following each other down the path of engagement, marriage and babies. Showers were the thing.
It was the first baby shower, and in our excitement, the ladies rallied to celebrate – someone organized the games, another the food, and of course, there were presents. Somehow, and I’m not exactly sure what possessed me, I volunteered to bake the cake.
Not just a cake, but a Noah’s Ark cake, adorably decorated with star tipped animals smiling with their big eyes in a boat. At least that was the idea pictured on the cake pan. I thought, “How hard could it be? All I need are a couple of frosting tips!”
It didn’t go exactly as planned.
The cake part was a breeze. But boy was I humbled by the frosting. I had never taken a class, and YouTube wasn’t around then to usher me through the world of cake decorating. What was I thinking??? I found myself the morning of the baby shower struggling, my hands cramped, my technique sorely lacking. I arrived late to the party, cake miraculously finished, my heart deflated and my ego definitely bruised.
My husband watched me from afar and a few months later, for Christmas, what did he get me? A toolbox of cake decorating items. I’m so grateful that I didn’t ban cakes from the kitchen forever. In fact, I still love it and wish I had more time to learn more! I’m far from mastering cake decorating, but for me, it’s more about fun than perfection!
There’s a new product by Chef’n that I wish existed back then – the Chef’n Cakewalk, which is a handy cake decorating kit that has everything you need, whether you are a complete novice or an accomplished baker. Housed underneath a smooth rotating platform is a set of decorating tips, along with disposable pastry bags. It’s sleek, it doesn’t take up a ton of room, and it’s dishwasher safe. I can’t tell you how eager I was to test it out!
For starters, the spinning platform is fantastic, and makes decorating your cake so easy. It doesn’t budge, and it rolls so smoothly, making a huge difference for frosting and decorating! And I love that it’s all contained – truly, I can get rid of my clunky toolbox and all the assorted gear, and I would have everything I need in the Cakewalk!
To give it a whirl, I made this Sweet Potato Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. The smooth rotation of the Cakewalk made it easier to evenly frost the cake, and I loved the quality of the decorating tips and the disposable pastry bags! The pastry bags were heavy weight, which I appreciate after having used many flimsy bags in the past; it makes a huge difference!
To make the branches of the tree, I used the Chef’n round tip (#4), and for the leaves, I used the teardrop tip (#10). The apples were formed with marzipan to give a little 3D effect!
I may not have the best decorating skills, but it was the most fun I’ve had cake decorating in a long while.
This Sweet Potato Apple Cake will be going towards my little one’s Fall Carnival cakewalk this weekend – so I guess that means I’ll just have to bake another one again real soon. And I’m totally looking forward to it!
Giveaway
I am excited for one of you to give the Chef’n Cakewalk a whirl! One winner will be selected. Here’s how to enter:
- Please leave a comment letting me know: Have you ever decorated a cake before? Was it fun? and click on the widget below.
- Entries/Comments accepted until 12 a.m. Pacific, Tuesday, November 11, 2014.
- One winner will be randomly selected and notified by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to email notification, otherwise an alternate winner will be selected.
Disclosure: This post and giveaway was made possible by Chef’n. As always, all opinions are my own. Sponsored posts such as these help support the work behind the scenes on Kitchen Confidante. Thank you so much for your visits and making my blog part of your day.
Sweet Potato Apple Cake
This is a cake that will win the hearts of carrot cake lovers (and sweet potato doubters!). It is definitely one of my favorite cakes for fall!
Ingredients
For the cake:
2 cups sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups canola oil
1 1/2 cups grated sweet potato
1 1/2 cups grated apple
For the frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
16 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Preheat the oven 350°F. Prepare two 8-inch round baking pans by coating with cooking spray or butter. Use parchment paper rounds, if desired, or dust with flour.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until light and frothy. Beat in the oil. Add the flour mixture in two additions, until just incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Stir in the sweet potato and apple.
Pour the batter into the pans and place in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cake is springy and a toothpick comes clean.
When the cake is baked, remove from oven. Let it sit cool completely. Trim the top of the cake with a serrated knife for a flat surface. Invert onto your wire rack or serving plate. If preparing in advance, wrap the cake well and refrigerate until ready to frost. This can be done a day or two in advance.
Make the frosting by whipping together the butter and cream cheese. Add the vanilla. Slowly add the powdered sugar and whisk well. Frost the cake and refrigerate.
Remove the cake from the refrigerator about 10-15 minutes prior to serving.
Comments
COOKBOOK
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I follow this method to do it. Tastes better。Thank you for sharing, this article is really great, I really like, is very useful to me, I like to eat good food,
I have decorated many cakes. And I love it! I’m trying to learn and improve with each cake I make. : ) I think your cake was very nice. : )
I helped make a wedding cake once. I didn’t do a lot of the decorating (more of the baking), but it was fun! I’d love these tools to up my game.
Love the way you decorated this cake! Thanks for introducing us to the Chefn’ Cakewalk set. I had to jerryrig a turntable for my last cake decorating session.
I once took a cake decorating class, I learned a lot of good cake tips, but have never gotten the knack of making it look pretty. I think if I won this I could!
Your cake looks yummy. I love decorating cakes. Absolutely my favorite part (when making a cake). :)
I have decorated a cake before, but I need a lot more practice! I have only mastered doing a border, as even just icing a cake is still a lot of work for me
I like to decorate cakes for the kids. They don’t care how good or bad they look.
I am so bad at decorating cakes! I need help!!!
Beautiful cake, Liren! I’m too much of a perfectionist to deal with decorating, I think ;). I love your apple tree topper!
I haven’t decorate a cake yet.. if I win this fantastic giveaway I don’t think I’ll be able to stop decorating cakes! thanks for the opportunity!
I love how you personalize your recipes and connect them to the daily situations that affect our lives. i just love cakes and decorating them……. cant wait to try out this recipe.
That means so much to me, Nancy. I love how food and stories can connect all of us, and am glad you can relate to the ones I share! Hope you enjoy the cake as much as we did!
NIce and inovated Sweet Potato Apple Cake recipe i love that…………………
I have only frosted a handful of layered cakes. As for the decorating, maybe a bit of piping along the edges. It’s a skill in progress for sure!
I definitely feel like it’s a skill in progress for me, too! I so admire people who can decorate cakes beautifully!
Yes! One of my favorites is the Yule Log cake I made last Christmas Eve…
That sounds wonderful, Toyia!
This sounds amazing and bet it’s so moist!
I made a homemade birthday cake and decorated it for my daughter’s birthday.
I haven’t decorated very many cakes using tips, etc., but am up for tryin it again!
Yes, I have decorated cakes many times!
andysavi.mom@gmail.com
Beautiful cake! I love to decorate cakes and I find that there always seems to be a new challenge with each cake; I learn something each time :)
I couldn’t agree more, Kelsey! I think the most important thing I’ve learned the last time is that decorating takes more than patience, it takes gobs of time. I think waiting for the cake to cool is the hardest part ;)
I have wanted to learn decoration but have been intimidated by the tools I need to buy. This kit sounds perfect.
This kit is definitely a great place to start – it’s compact and has everything you need!
Your cake decorating angst is still my angst. I am always impressed with the bloggers do. Like this wonderful cake you made. Really special with all the layers too.
I couldn’t agree more, Carol! I love seeing the beautiful creations people can make with frosting!
I have decorated a cake before and it was lots of fun…unfortunately I don’t think I’m very good at it!
That reminds me of cakes I used to eat when I was a kid. :) nhami
SWEET POTATO CAKE? Where has this been my whole life?! I will be trying this!
This is so cute, Liren!!! I’m also not a big cake decorator myself. But it’s hard to turn down people when they ask for a cake. So I usually attempt something. My last one was a carrot cake, so I just did some simple carrots around the edge. Pretty easy. But I would love to get better at this!