Sweet Potato Cake

By cindygwest

Ingredients

• 26 tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for pan
• 3 cups flour, plus more for pan
• 1 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 3/4 sp. ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 2 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups mashed roasted sweet potatoes
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 8 oz. whole pecans
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup dark rum
• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup milk

Preparation

Step 1

. Make the cake: Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9″ × 13″ baking pan; set aside. Brown 16 tbsp. butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat; chill until solid. Whisk flour, 1 tsp. salt, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, baking soda, and allspice in a bowl; set aside. Beat browned butter and 2 cups brown sugar on medium speed of a mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, until smooth; beat in potatoes, sour cream, and 1 ½ tsp. vanilla. Add dry ingredients; beat until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top with a rubber spatula; bake until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cool; halve cake crosswise into two layers.

2. Make the candied pecans and marshmallow icing: Heat 4 tbsp. butter in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat; add pecans, ¼ cup sugar, and rum, and cook, stirring often, until thickly glazed, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a sheet of foil in an even layer; cool. Boil remaining sugar, ¼ tsp. salt, and ¼ cup water in a 2-qt. saucepan over high heat, without stirring, until syrup reaches 250° on a candy thermometer. Place whites in a bowl, and beat on high speed of a mixer until frothy, about 1 minute; slowly pour hot syrup in a steady stream into whites. Continue beating whites until cooled; stir in ½ tsp. vanilla. Spread icing evenly over bottom cake layer; cover with top cake layer.

3, Make the praline topping: Bring remaining butter, salt, brown sugar, confectioners' sugar, and milk to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan over high heat; cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in remaining vanilla, and let cool, without stirring, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Pour sauce over cake, and arrange candied pecans on top.