Sweet Potato Pound Cake With Marshmallow Crumble Recipe

This sweet potato pound cake with marshmallow crumble is what your favorite holiday side would look like if it were a dessert. This poundcake loaf is sweet and substantial enough for a 4 o'clock snack or a special after-dinner treat, with a moist crumb and a topping that is both crunchy and chewy. All it's missing is the strong black coffee, but we can leave it to you, right?

Ksenia Prints from Thermocookery was inspired by everyone's favorite Thanksgiving sweet potato side dish with marshmallows to create this dessert. The key to this cake is the real sweet potato puree at its core, which becomes dessert fodder when mixed with warming spices and a touch of both vanilla and almond extracts. With moisture from sour cream and eggs, this cake is light yet satisfying.

But the real showstopper is the broiled marshmallow and pecan crumble topping, which mimics the beloved sweet potato casserole. It transforms in minutes under the broiler to create a golden, toasted crown. This cake works as a dessert or with your afternoon coffee, and it actually tastes better the next day, so you just may want to make two loaves.

To make this marshmallow-topped sweet potato pound cake, you'll need unsalted butter at room temperature, granulated sugar, and large eggs also at room temperature. Prepare sweet potato puree from a couple of sweet potatoes, and add vanilla extract and almond extract for flavoring. For the dry ingredients, you'll need sifted all-purpose flour, kosher salt, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and baking soda. You'll also need sour cream or Greek yogurt at room temperature. The crumble topping requires flour, brown sugar, cold cubed butter, chopped pecans, and marshmallows. For serving, we love topping the cake with a dollop of yogurt or whipped cream to counter all the sweetness, but this isn't strictly necessary.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Grease and flour a tube pan or a Bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, for about 5 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Mix the sweet potato puree with the vanilla and almond extracts.

Combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda.

Alternate adding the flour mixture and the sour cream to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in the sweet potato mixture until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 80 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.

Cool the cake for 15 minutes in the pan.

Combine the flour, brown sugar, and butter until crumbly in a bowl. Mix in the pecans, and top the cake with crumble and marshmallows.

Broil on low heat for 2-3 minutes, watching carefully, until the marshmallows are golden.

Cool completely, slice and serve, topping with tangy yogurt or whipped cream, if desired.

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This cake gets its flavor and body from real sweet potato puree. Sure, you can use store-bought canned sweet potato puree, but there's just something about making it yourself that tastes fresher and more wholesome. You'll need about two small sweet potatoes to yield a half cup of puree, and there are three methods you can follow to extract it.

The easiest approach is the microwave method. To do this, simply pierce the potatoes and wrap them in damp paper towels. Microwave them on high for 5-8 minutes, turning them halfway through, until they're tender. This is the fastest option and works well when you're short on time. To bake or roast your sweet potatoes, pierce them with a fork several times and place them on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 F for 45-60 minutes, until they're completely soft when squeezed. This helps concentrate the sweetness as some moisture evaporates, making your cake taste naturally sweeter. 

Another option is boiling. Peel and cube the sweet potatoes, bring water to a boil, and then simmer the potatoes for 15-20 minutes, until they are fork-tender. If you're following this approach, drain the potatoes thoroughly before mashing them, as your cake won't appreciate the excess water. Whatever method you choose, let the sweet potatoes cool slightly before scooping out the flesh. Use a fork, potato masher, or food processor to create a smooth puree without lumps, perfect for our sweet potato pound cake recipe. You can make your puree in advance and freeze it, as it will only keep for about four days in the fridge.

You may wonder, why mess with a good thing? But when a cake is this good, it just sparks your imagination to keep playing. We love taking the Southern theme of this cake even further. Substitute the vanilla extract in the cake for bourbon or Southern Comfort liqueur. For the spices, you can replace the cinnamon and nutmeg with pumpkin pie spice or add a pinch of ground ginger, cloves, or cardamom for extra warmth. But our favorite addition is folding some chocolate chips into the batter, which makes it even richer and more indulgent.

For the crumble topping, you can swap pecans for walnuts, almonds, or leave out the nuts entirely. You can use mini marshmallows instead of regular ones for more even coverage, or skip the marshmallows altogether and just use the pecan crumble. You can also drizzle the finished cake with caramel sauce. Finally, we have turned this cake into muffins by filling lined muffin tins two-thirds full and baking them for 20-25 minutes, before topping each with a small amount of crumble and a marshmallow and then broiling them briefly till they're brown and bubbly.

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