Recipe: Sweet Potato Spice Cake with Vanilla Cashew Cream

We all know the debate between pumpkin pie or sweet potato pie at the Thanksgiving dinner table, but this Sweet Potato Spice Cake with Vanilla Cashew Cream will definitely silence the debaters and have them smiling in agreement. It’s easy to make and a great dessert to serve for the coming holidays!

Sweet Potato Spice Cake with Vanilla Cashew Cream (Dairy and gluten free)

Try to find all organic ingredients for this tasty cake!

• 1 cup melted coconut oil
• 2 ¾ cup gluten free all-purpose flour
• 2 cups evaporated cane sugar (I use Wholesome brand)
• 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 2 baked sweet potatoes, peeled and smashed
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp nutmeg powder

Preheat oven 325° F and lightly grease a 10-inch round cake pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, add the mashed sweet potatoes, coconut oil and sugar, and combine with an electric mixer until smooth. With the mixer on, add the apple sauce and vanilla until you have a creamy consistency. Fold the dry flour mixture into the wet ingredients and combine with an electric mixer or large spatula until smooth. Make sure you have no lumps.

Pour batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake about an hour until a toothpick, inserted in the center, comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan on a rack. Once cooled, transfer to cake plate.

Vanilla Cashew Cream

• 2 cups soaked organic cashews (soak 2-4 hours and drain)
• 1 cup filtered water
• ½ cup date paste (soak ½ cup pitted dates in warm water for 1 hour, drain and put dates in blender and blend into a creamy paste)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• a pinch of sea salt

Place water, cashews, date paste, vanilla and salt into blender and blend until creamy. Drizzle or dollop on cake and add a dash of cinnamon powder before serving.

Happy holidays!

Chef Nina Curtis

About the author: Chef Nina Curtis is the director and executive chef at Adventist Health’s Vitaliz Café in Roseville, California. Follow her @botanicalchef on social media.