19 Teatime Holidays
Sweet Potato Cakes
with Toasted Meringue
Makes 9½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 (15-ounce) can sweet potato purée
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon rum extract
1¾ cups all-purpose fl our
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
Spiced Meringue Topping
(recipe follows)
Garnish: edible gold luster dust
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9-inch
round cake pan with baking spray with
fl our. Line bottom of pan with parch-
ment paper. - In a large bowl, beat together butter
and sugar with a mixer at medium
speed until fl uff y, 2 to 3 minutes,
stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add
eggs, one at a time, beating well after
each addition. Add sweet potato,
vanilla extract, and rum extract, beat-
ing until combined. - In a medium bowl, whisk together
fl our, baking powder, pumpkin pie
spice, and salt. With mixer at low
speed, gradually add fl our mixture
to butter mixture, beating just until
combined. Spoon batter into prepared
pan, smoothing top with an off set
spatula.- Bake until a wooden pick inserted
in center comes out clean, 40 to 45
minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 min-
utes. Remove from pan, and let cool
completely on a wire rack. - Using a serrated knife, trim domed
top from cake. Using a 2-inch round
cutter, cut 9 rounds from cake. - Place Spiced Meringue Topping in a
piping bag fi tted with a large star tip
(Wilton #2D). Pipe Spiced Meringue
Topping onto tops of cake rounds.
Using a kitchen torch, lightly brown
meringue. - Garnish with gold luster dust, if
desired. Serve immediately, or store
at room temperature in an airtight
container for up to 2 hours.
Spiced Meringue Topping
Makes approximately 1½ cups2 large egg whites
½ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons fresh orange juice
¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk
together egg whites, sugar, orange
juice, and pumpkin pie spice by
hand. Place bowl over a saucepan
of simmering water. Cook, whisking
constantly, until sugar dissolves, 3 to
4 minutes. Carefully return bowl to
stand mixer. Using the whisk attach-
ment, beat at low speed, gradually
increasing to high speed, until glossy,
stiff peaks form, 5 to 8 minutes. Use
immediately.
“Gratitude is
the heart’s memory.”
—FRENCH PROVERB