Baby Sweet Potato Cakes With Pecans and Sticky Caramel Sauce

Submitted by Bev I Am

"This was the 2006 Cook-Off Finalist recipe for Southern Living Magazine."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 19
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (15 ounce) can sweet potatoes, drained and mashed
• 1⁄3 cup buttermilk
• nonstick cooking spray
• 1⁄2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

• Caramel-Pecan Sauce

• 1⁄2 cup butter
• 3⁄4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1⁄2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• vanilla ice cream (optional)
• heavy cream (optional)

directions

1. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
2. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
3. Combine flour and baking soda.
4. Gradually add half of flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended, and stopping to scrape bottom and down sides of bowl.
5. Add remaining half of flour mixture, and beat until blended.
6. Add vanilla and next 5 ingredients, beating at medium speed until smooth.
7. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray, filling two-thirds full.
8. 3. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
9. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes.
10. Remove warm cakes from pan, and sprinkle with toasted pecans.
11. Top each cake with 2 1/2 Tbsp Caramel-Pecan Sauce (*recipe follows).
12. Serve with vanilla ice cream or ice-cold heavy cream, if desired.
13. *Caramel-Pecan Sauce:.
14. Cook butter and sugar in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes or until butter melts and sugar dissolves.
15. Whisk in heavy cream and coffee granules. Bring mixture to a light boil, stirring constantly.
16. Turn off heat, and let stand on cooktop until slightly cool, stirring often. Makes 2 cups.

Reviews

[Larawithoutau]

These were moist and delicious. I added just a bit of ground nutmeg to the batter and used 1 cup of mashed cooked sweet potato instead of the canned sweet potato, very moist! See recipe #55678 http://www.food.com/recipe/baked-sweet-potato-55678, you'll never prepare a better sweet potato than this! I did not add the pecans to the topping. <br/>This is a great alternative to powdered sugar frosting and old stand by cake mix cake. It also would be good with cream cheese frosting.

 

[Nasseh]

Moist & delicious... I did have to cook the muffins an additional 5 minutes. I did not make the caramel sauce to go on top. The muffins were wonderful enough without it. Made for Newest Zaar Tag