Sweet Potato Cupcakes
These ultra moist, soft Sweet Potato Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting are perfect for fall!
Servings: 28 cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Sweet Potato Cupcakes
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened (170g)
- 1 cup granulated/white sugar (200g)
- 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed (217g)
- 3 eggs, room temperature (If in a hurry, place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for five minutes.)
- 15 oz can sweet potato puree (425g) sweet potatoes — you could also use fresh cooked sweet potato puree (1 ½ cups)
- ½ cup milk (121g)
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil (we use canola oil) (68g)
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (12g)
- 3 cups cake flour (342g) See Notes for a substitution if you do not have cake flour.
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (8g)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda (3g)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon (6g)
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg (1g)
- ½ teaspoon salt (3g)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened (226g) unsalted butter, slightly softened
- 16 oz cream cheese, softened. (452g total) We used two 8 oz packages of full fat cream cheese.
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (8g)
- ½ teaspoon salt (2g)
- 6 cups powdered sugar (690g) You can adjust amount slightly up or down to your liking.
Decoration
- We topped the cupcakes with pecans.
Instructions
For the Sweet Potato Cake Layers
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set Aside
- In another bowl, add the sweet potatoes, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Set Aside.
- In the bowl of your mixer, add the butter and mix at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and continue to mix on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until lightened in color and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each until the yellow of the yolk is blended.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of the milk/sweet potato mixture). After the last addition, mix just until combined.
- This recipe makes about 7 cups of batter. Fill the cupcake liners with about ¼ cup of batter each (for a total of about 28 cupcakes.)
- Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes (Peek in at the 15 minute mark and adjust time as needed.) Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached, or when tops spring back when lightly touched. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes and turn out.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add softened butter to mixer. Mix on low to medium speed until the butter is softened and smooth.
- Add the softened cream cheese to the butter, mixing at low to medium speed until incorporated.
- Add the vanilla extract. Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing on low speed as the sugar is incorporated.
- Increase mixing speed slightly and mix until fluffy and well combined. Be careful not to overmix. If the frosting becomes too soft, chill it in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes or until it reaches desired consistency for frosting the cooled cupcakes.
- This frosting will pipe best if used while still chilled. You can make it in advance, refrigerate and when ready to use let it soften slightly (do not microwave) and remix.
- We frosted our cooled cupcakes using a 1M large star piping tip. Decorate however you like! We swirled frosting onto the cupcakes and then topped each with a pecan.
- Because of the cream cheese frosting, these cupcakes should be refrigerated (in an airtight container or under a cake dome). However, for best flavor and texture, allow to warm closer to room temperature before serving. Remove from the refrigerator 1-2 hours before serving.