Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Bundt Cake
with salted caramel glaze (dairy-free recipe)
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Grandma’s old fashioned sweet potato Bundt cake recipe with an easy to make salted caramel glaze on top.
Vintage Sweet Potato Cake Inspiration
As fall enters in and the holiday season draws near, our thoughts turn to warm and comforting flavors that remind us of cherished family traditions. And what better way to celebrate these moments than with a delicious old fashioned dessert straight from my grandmother’s recipe book! I’m talking about a classic, made-from-scratch sweet potato Bundt cake that’s moist and delicious covered in an easy-to-make salted caramel glaze, perfect for fall, Thanksgiving or Christmas celebrations with family and friends.
The salted caramel glaze compliments this moist sweet potato cake with warm fall spices and would make the best Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert idea.
When I was handed down my Grandma’s recipe scrap book years ago, I read all of her vintage recipes from front to back and when I saw this old fashioned made-from-scratch recipe for sweet potato cake, I KNEW I had to try it one day, so I earmarked it! I bake sweet potatoes year-round, they are a super food and I love finding ways to incorporate them in recipes. While this recipe is not the healthiest, it’s a great holiday splurge (that includes a vegetable) and I used dairy-free ingredients since I am lactose intolerant.
You can also make this recipe for mini Bundt cakes as pictured on the vintage Currier and Ives blue and white dish, which we grew up using. You will fill mini Bundt pans half full and bake for only 15-18 minutes, makes about 24 mini Bundts.
Her recipe just said “chopped nuts” as one of the ingredients, but I would imagine she used pecans because of the abundance of pecan trees on her land and my parents have lots of them every fall, so that is the nut I chose to use in this family recipe. You can substitute with real dairy ingredients (equal amounts) if desired. Get ready to add a new favorite to your fall and holiday dessert repertoire!
Let’s begin!
Sweet potato Bundt cake ingredients
Sweet potato cake ingredients
1 cup plant butter, softened (I use Country Crock Plant Butter)
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes (Find my recipe HERE for how to cook sweet potatoes in the oven. You will need about 4 medium or 3 large sweet potatoes.)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup coconut flakes (unsweetened or sweetened is fine)
Salted Caramel Glaze Ingredients
Caramel glaze ingredients
1/2 cup plant butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp canned coconut milk, full-fat
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp sea salt
Optional garnish: chopped pecans, toasted or untoasted, but toasted is more flavorful!
How to make sweet potato Bundt cake from scratch
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350℉ / 176℃ and prepare your Bundt pan by spraying lightly with a cooking spray or grease and lightly flour pan. I used a 9-inch silicone Bundt pan and sprayed with cooking spray right before adding batter. (Note: the original recipe used a large tube pan (10-inch) and said to line bottom with waxed paper. Today, parchment paper is widely available and would make the better choice if using a metal tube pan. obviously, it would not work well in a silicone Bundt cake mold well since there is more curves and design, so I chose to use an avocado based non-stick cooking spray.)
Add butter to a large mixing bowl and cream thoroughly with an electric mixer at medium speed, about 2-3 minutes. Add sugar gradually, beating well. Next, add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
Add mashed sweet potatoes and vanilla extract and mix until well blended.
In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
Note: The original recipe said to sift these dry ingredients together, but I find that whisking them together for 1-2 minutes works just as well and easier for me.
Add flour mixture to sweet potato batter and mix on low speed until just incorporated and no dry ingredients remain, scraping down sides when needed.
Use a large spoon or silicone spatula to fold in pecans and coconut evenly.
If using a silicone Bundt cake mold, first place the mold on a baking sheet to stabilize. The batter will be thick, use a large spoon to transfer evenly into the prepared cake mold or tube pan, filling 3/4 full. (If using a 9-inch pan, you may have some leftover batter, see note below.)
Place cake in the center of oven to bake for 55-60 minutes, or until when checked with a wooden toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs or clean.
Note: Since I used a 9-inch Bundt mold, I had some leftover batter and used to make 6 mini Bundt cakes.
Remove from oven when finished baking and let cool on rack for 15 minutes before unmolding from pan or silicone mold. After unmolding, let cool completely on cooling rack before adding glaze.
Note: I am always very impressed with how beautifully and easily my red silicone mold lets go of the cake and looks before glazing. You can see the very tips are more dark brown, but it truly tastes delicious giving it a slight crunchy crust there, reminiscent of a pound cake crust.
How to make salted caramel glaze for Bundt cake
Instructions
In a small sauce pot, cook butter and brown sugar over medium heat, whisking frequently, until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Note: It will bubble slightly and become very fragrant.
Remove from heat and whisk in coconut milk, vanilla and sea salt, about 1 minute longer.
Let glaze cool 15 minutes longer. Before using, whisk again, about 1 minute until smooth. Glaze should be thicker, but very pourable.
Spoon or pour caramel glaze evenly over top of cake and let slide down the sides, then sprinkle with pecans, if desired.
The salted caramel glaze was not part of the original vintage recipe, but I thought it would compliment this sweet potato cake very well, and it does! Here is a snippet from the original recipe: “This cake is delicious served with whipped cream. It is moist and does not dry out.” This would make a great fall picnic cake to take to the park and enjoy.
Fall mini Bundt cake idea
If you are looking for a great Thanksgiving or holiday party dessert idea to serve individually, these mini Bundt’s would be the best!
Each guest would get the perfect serving size and no cutting of a big cake is required! You could make these a few days ahead and store in an airtight container in the fridge and pull out the morning of party and they will be ready to serve, making this an easy and delicious dessert option.
Easy holiday dessert idea for Thanksgiving or Christmas
You can make this holiday Bundt cake a few days before and store in an airtight container in fridge and pull out the morning of the big celebration. You could also bake the cake weeks ahead, freeze, (wrapped well) thaw and then add the glaze the day you serve this.
The subtle hints of sweet potato, warm autumn spices and sweet coconut are a delicious compliment to the salted caramel glaze and pairs well with coffee, chai tea or milk.
Enjoy!
💜Julie
Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Bundt Cake recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ / 176℃ and prepare your Bundt pan by spraying lightly with a cooking spray or grease and lightly flour pan. I used a 9-inch silicone Bundt pan and sprayed with cooking spray right before adding batter. (Note: the original recipe used a large tube pan (10-inch) and said to line bottom with waxed paper. Today, parchment paper is widely available and would make the better choice if using a metal tube pan. obviously, it would not work well in a silicone Bundt cake mold well since there is more curves and design, so I chose to use an avocado based non-stick cooking spray.)
- Add butter to a large mixing bowl and cream thoroughly with an electric mixer at medium speed, about 2-3 minutes. Add sugar gradually, beating well. Next, add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
- Add mashed sweet potatoes and vanilla extract and mix until well blended.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- Add flour mixture to sweet potato batter and mix on low speed until just incorporated and no dry ingredients remain, scraping down sides when needed.
- Use a large spoon or silicone spatula to fold in pecans and coconut evenly.
- If using a silicone Bundt cake mold, first place the mold on a baking sheet to stabilize. The batter will be thick, use a large spoon to transfer evenly into the prepared cake mold or tube pan, filling 3/4 full. (If using a 9-inch pan, you may have some leftover batter, see note below.)
- Place cake in the center of oven to bake for 55-60 minutes, or until when checked with a wooden toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs or clean.
- Remove from oven when finished baking and let cool on rack for 15 minutes before unmolding from pan or silicone mold. After unmolding, let cool completely on cooling rack before adding glaze.
- In a small sauce pot, cook butter and brown sugar over medium heat, whisking frequently, until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Note: It will bubble slightly and become very fragrant.
- Remove from heat and whisk in coconut milk, vanilla and sea salt, about 1 minute longer.
- Let glaze cool 15 minutes longer. Before using, whisk again, about 1 minute until smooth. Glaze should be thicker, but very pourable.
- Spoon or pour caramel glaze evenly over top of cake and let slide down the sides, then sprinkle with pecans, if desired.
Notes
Note: I am lactose intolerant, so I chose to make this a dairy-free recipe. If you want to substitute with real dairy ingredients, use equal amount substitutions
Note: Since I used a 9-inch Bundt mold, I had some leftover batter and used to make 6 mini-Bundt cakes. If you want to make all mini-bundts, you can get about 24 out of this batter.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
425Fat (grams)
9 gSat. Fat (grams)
3 gCarbs (grams)
89 gFiber (grams)
4 gNet carbs
86 gSugar (grams)
46 gProtein (grams)
8 gSodium (milligrams)
409 mgNutrition Disclaimer: Nutritional Information is provided as a courtesy only and should be viewed as an estimate. Ingredients can vary with brands and size and Inspiration Apron makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information. Per slice.
