When we’re in the throws of pumpkin season, our dear friend the sweet potato often gets overlooked. I’m here today to change that and give sweet potato an opportunity to take center stage in its own warming dessert. This sweet potato tres leches cake was inspired by conversation with my cousin about the ingredients he has been receiving in bulk in his farm share. Sweet potato was one such vegetable and it led me to think about a possible sweet potato dessert beyond the well-known classic sweet potato pie.
I figured the sweetness, moisture, and flavor of a sweet potato could really enhance a cake and would go particularly well with dairy, and thus the sweet potato tres leches cake was born. This tres leches recipe is made with an incredibly light and fluffy cake, which has a slight nuttiness and earthiness from the sweet potato. It is topped with a barely sweetened, fluffy mascarpone whipped cream. The cream is infused with bay leaves, adding that touch of warming spice to evoke autumn without overwhelming the flavor of the sweet potato. A light dusting of nutmeg is added to the top to tie it all together.
The base for this recipe is adapted from Ina Garten’s tres leches cake, which is unbelievably light and fluffy. It is the perfect texture for soaking up all of the milk without leaving the cake feeling overly heavy or stodgy. For my sweet potato cake, I first roasted the sweet potato to bring out its flavor and reduce some of its moisture. The sweet potato is then pureed, brightened up with a hint of orange zest, and folded into the airy batter.
For the topping, I added mascarpone to the whipped cream to create a more stable whipped cream that wouldn’t collapse over time. The mascarpone also adds a satisfying body to the cream. It wouldn’t be right for a recipe on this blog to be without a savory component, so in this case, the whipped cream is infused with fresh bay leaves. This was my first time using bay leaf in a dessert–the flavor is quite subtle but tastes slightly herby and gives the sensation of a bit of warming spice. I was able to find fresh bay leaves from the grocery store, which is ideal for infusing. You can also try this out with dried bay leaves, although you may need to add more to get the flavor, especially if your bay leaves are quite old.
If you’re looking for something a little bit different to make in between your pumpkin breads and pumpkin pies, gives this sweet potato tres leches a try! It’s a surprisingly delightful dessert that has all of the classic elements of a tres leches but with layers of unexpected fall flavor.
Sweet potato tres leches cake with bay leaf
Course: Cakes and custardsDifficulty: Baking session1
9 x 13 cake50
minutes25
minutesThis sweet potato tres leches cake has all of the classic elements of a tres leches but with a fall twist–a light and fluffy sweet potato cake, soaked in a milk mixture and topped with a bay-leaf infused mascarpone whipped cream. The sweet potato adds a nuttiness and earthy sweetness to the cake, while the bay leaf adds subtle warming spice.
Ingredients
- For the cake
1 cup pureed sweet potato (2-3 sweet potatoes)
3 large eggs
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp diamond crystal kosher salt (1/2 tsp Morton kosher)
zest of half an orange
- For the milk soak
3/4 cup whole milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
- For the topping
1 cup heavy cream
4 fresh bay leaves (or 5-6 dry)
1/2 cup mascarpone
2 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar
freshly grated nutmeg
Instructions
- Prepare the cake
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork and roast for about 30-40 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are soft all the way through. Let cool slightly, cut in half, and scoop out the flesh with a spoon, separating it from the skin. Puree in a blender or small food processor until smooth. Let cool completely to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350. In the bowl of a mixer, add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Beat on medium high speed using a paddle attachment for a full ten minutes, until very light, fluffy, and voluminous. While this is mixing, in a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Once the 10 minutes is up, measure out one cup of your pureed sweet potato and add to a small bowl that has some extra room in it (or you can measure it in a large two-cup measuring cup). Stir in the orange zest. Take a large spoonful of the beaten egg mixture and add it to the sweet potato. Fold with a spatula to incorporate. It’s okay if most of the air is lost in the process–the goal is to lighten up and thin out the sweet potato a bit. Take half of the flour mixture and pour it into the large bowl with the beaten eggs. Gently fold until incorporated. Then add the sweet potato mixture, again gently folding, followed by the rest of the flour. Try to keep as much air in the mixture as possible, but make sure there are no visible streaks of flour.
- Butter a 9 x 13 baking pan and pour the batter into the pan, smoothing out the top. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until the cake springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 30 minutes, keeping the cake in the glass dish.
- Stir together all of the ingredients for the milk soak. Use a chopstick or skewer to poke holes all over the top of the cake (you can be pretty generous with this). Then pour some of the milk mixture over the top. Allow the milk to absorb from the surface and then pour another layer on top. Continue, pausing as needed to allow some of the milk to soak down, until you have used up all of the milk. It will feel like a lot, but it will turn out! Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least six hours, ideally overnight.
- Prepare the topping
- Add the heavy cream to a small saucepan. Tear the bay leaves into a few large pieces and add them in. Heat the cream over medium low heat until it begins to simmer. Then turn off the heat, cover, and let steep for 20 minutes. Give the cream a taste at this point–if you can’t taste anything, add more bay leaf and steep a bit longer, checking after another 10 minutes. If it’s too strong, dilute with some additional fresh cream. Strain out the bay leaf and refrigerate the cream until it is cold again. This step can be done a day or two in advance.
- When you’re ready to serve the cake, add the infused cream, mascarpone, and confectioners’ sugar to a medium bowl. Whisk until the mixture has thickened and increased in volume. It should still have a soft texture but should hold its shape. Spread evenly over the top of the cake. Grate a thin layer of fresh nutmeg over the top of the cake. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Leftovers can be covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated for a few days.
Leave a comment