I’ve never met a potato I didn’t like. Baked, mashed, chips, vodka. The possibilities are endless but what I really love is a sweet potato. Straight up raw, peeled, and diced. It could be my favorite type of root vegetable carb. I can’t even start in on how dang good it is mashed, sprinkled with a healthy dose of mini marshmallows, and sea salt, and baked until ooey-gooey sweet and salty perfection! And this Sweet Potato Cake is all that and so much more!

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Sweet Potato Cake Inspiration

Sweet potato casserole was always a staple growing up for Thanksgiving dinner. I’ll pass on the stuffing, but you better believe me that I’ll be taking a double portion of this casserole. And that’s typically what my Thanksgiving plate looks like.

A little bit of turkey, maybe some green beans, and about 3/4’s of the plate with that mashed sweet potato yumminess. And then I’ll save my “seconds plate” for pie. A slice of pumpkin AND a slice of apple. Because why have 1 piece when you can have 2? Right?!

Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Cake

I wanted to create a Thanksgiving dinner, but in cake form, and I think I knocked it out of the park with this Sweet Potato Pie cake. It’s made up of dairy-free sweet potato cake layers baked right on top of a flaky pie crust. Sweet homemade honey marshmallow fluff filled each layer, and the whole cake was covered in a smooth dairy-free molasses buttercream.

Sweet Potato Cake Layers

Don’t get overwhelmed with all the different elements of this cake. They aren’t tricky, and you can break them up over a few days. First, bake the pie crust cake layers for one day. Double plastic wrap them and pop them into the freezer until you’re ready to decorate. I regularly bake my cake layers early and freeze them. Here’s a quick tip: take them out the night before you want to put the cake together and let them thaw overnight in the fridge.

How To Prep This Cake Early

Second, make the honey marshmallow fluff on another day because it can be easily stored at room temperature for up to 7 days with no problem. And maybe the molasses buttercream the day before, because you can keep it out overnight at room temperature, so it’s ready to be used.

How To Make Honey Marshmallow Fluff Filling

I will leave you with a quick little note about the marshmallow fluff. You could easily use store-bought fluff, but homemade is legitimately 1000x yummier. And it will shock you how easy it is to make. Get a candy thermometer to make life even easier (this one is only a few bucks on Amazon) and start bringing the water, sugar, and honey to a boil.

Allow it to boil until the thermometer reads 225°F. Once you hit this temperature, you’ll start whipping the egg whites so that by the time the mixture reaches 240°F, the whites should be fluffy with soft peaks. That’s the trickiest part right there. See…I told you it was easy! Now start tackling these different cake elements and have yourself a phenomenal Sweet Potato Pie cake.

Fall-Inspired Baking

Now that I’ve got you thinking all things fall. Here are a few fun-inspired baking recipes that you should probably totally try:

Sweet Potato Cake (Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free)

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Author: Katie
Total Time: 2 Hrs 25 Mins
Yield: 10 Slices
Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

Nothing is more perfect for autumn than a slice of this gluten-free sweet potato cake. Filled with homemade honey marshmallow fluffy and covered in whipped molasses frosting, this amazing cake is a total Thanksgiving crowd-pleaser.

Instructions

Sweet Potato Cake

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare three 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray and parchment. paper.
Remove pie shells from the package and with a sharp knife, trace around the bottom edge of a 6-inch pan on each shell. Take the pie shell scraps and roll them together for the third one.
Place each pie shell in a prepared cake pan and bake according to package instructions.
Let each pie crust cool in the cake pan while preparing the cake batter.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until fully combined.
Add in the sweet potato and mix.
Combine all the dry ingredients into the mixer and mix on low until fully incorporated. Be careful to not overmix the batter.
Divide batter between three 6-inch cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then invert on a cooling rack to fully cool.

Honey Marshmallow Fluff Filling

In a medium pot, bring the water, sugar, and honey to a boil over medium-high heat and place the candy thermometer in.
Prepare your stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment by quickly wiping it down with vinegar and a paper towel to get rid of any oil.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the egg white and cream of tartar.
When the sugar syrup mixture reaches 225°F, start the mixer on low and increase to medium. Stop when soft peaks are achieved, which should take approx. 3-4 minutes.
Remove the sugar syrup mixture from the heat once it reaches 240°F, and very carefully and slowly pour the syrup into the stand mixer on low.
Once the syrup is in the mixer, turn the speed up to medium-high and let it whip for approximately 6-8 minutes or until the mixture is thick and glossy.
Add in the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Allow to fully cool before filling the cake with marshmallow fluff and/or store it at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

Molasses Buttercream

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on high speed with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. This should take approximately 10 minutes.
Add in the molasses and mix on high for another 2 minutes.
Add the icing sugar and salt and mix on low until combined.
Turn the mixer up to medium and let mix for 5 minutes until smooth and creamy. Scrape the sides of the bowl when necessary.

Cake Assembly

Place one leveled layer of sweet potato cake on a cake board or plate making sure the pie pastry base is down. Top with approximately ½ cup of buttercream.
Pipe a buttercream border along the edges and fill with half of the honey marshmallow fluff filling.
Repeat with the remaining layers and apply a thin coat of buttercream all over the cake. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Cover the cake with another layer of buttercream and smooth the sides.
Decorate as you please. I added a small drop of orange food color to the buttercream for the final coat and very roughly smoothed the sides of the cake leaving some texture and the top edge raw. I placed large marshmallows on the top with smaller marshmallows filling in the gaps. With a small kitchen torch, I toasted the marshmallows. Enjoy!