Sweet Potato Pound Cake Recipe With Pecan Maple Glaze: A New Thanksgiving Dessert Tradition by Jan Mostrom

It’s not too late to make this fabulous and easy sweet potato pound cake with pecan maple glaze for Thanksgiving weekend. This moist and delicious pound cake recipe is perfect for breakfast, brunch or dessert, and only requires 20 minutes of prep before you pop it in the oven to bake into an aromatic loaf that everyone will rave about. Once the cake cooks and cools, you’ll just need an additional 10 minutes to make the delicious pecan maple glaze to drizzle over the top!

This sweet potato pound cake recipe is a wonderful breakfast cake if you love sweets in the morning. But if you prefer breakfast loafs that are a bit less sweet, you can always leave the glaze off – this sweet potato pound cake has loads of taste even without the glaze.

To make this easy sweet bread recipe you will need to gather the following ingredients from your fridge and pantry: flour (all-purpose or gluten-free flour), butter, granulated sugar, eggs, sour cream, mashed sweet potatoes (check out the health benefits of sweet potatoes), baking soda, kosher salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, heavy cream and pecans.

Pro Tip: If you forget to bring the eggs and sour cream to room temperature like I did, place them in a bowl of warm water for about four to five minutes.

Serve this sweet potato pound cake for dessert after dinner, for a sweet breakfast, as part of a brunch spread or as a sweet fall-inspired snack. Plus, this easy recipe is a wonderful way to use up leftover sweet potatoes. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 30 minutes plus 40 minutes to cool
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours and 10 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients

Cake

• 2 cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour, plus more for the pan
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 8 ounces sour cream (full-fat), at room temperature
• 1/2 cup mashed sweet potato or leftover candied yams
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Pecan Maple Glaze

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Here's how to make it: 

1. Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to beat the butter and sugar until very light in a large mixing bowl.
   
2. Add your eggs to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix well.
   
3. Blend in the sour cream and sweet potatoes.
   
4. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until just incorporated.
   
5. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan.
   
6. Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 1 hour. Check to see if a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If not bake for another 10 minutes and check again until the toothpick comes out without crumbs. Remove pan from oven and cool for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes use a knife to release the cake from the pan and turn over onto a cooking rack to finish cooling for another 30 minutes.
   
7. To make the pecan maple glaze, by placing all the ingredients except for the cream and pecans into a small saucepan over low heat and stir. When the butter has melted add the heavy cream and cook for 5 minutes. Add the pecans and stir for 2 to 3 minutes to toast the pecans and completely cover them with the glaze. Pour the glaze over the top of the loaf and enjoy! Store the loaf in an airtight container.
   

Photo credit (all photos): Jan Mostrom

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