This Sweet Potato Pound Cake is a moist, dense dessert featuring warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, real sweet potato puree, and a tender crumb that tastes just like sweet potato pie.
Updated August 10, 2026: I've refreshed this post with new tips, expanded FAQs, and helpful make-ahead instructions based on your questions and feedback. Same delicious recipe, even more helpful! Originally posted on November 2, 2015, and photos updated September 26, 2025.
Watch this quick video tutorial!
My grandmother kept a bundt pan on the top shelf of her pantry that only came down twice a year, and both times the whole house smelled like cinnamon and browning butter for hours. Sweet potato pound cake was what she made when she wanted people to stay a while. I still remember standing on a step stool watching her mash sweet potatoes by hand in the same pot she boiled them in, because she said washing an extra bowl was foolishness.
I've been developing and testing pound cake recipes here on Simply LaKita since 2013, and this one has been through more rounds of testing than almost anything else on the site. The lemon extract in the batter and the orange glaze on top are the two things I kept coming back to. Together they cut right through the earthiness of the sweet potato and keep the whole cake from tasting heavy.
If you've never made a sweet potato pound cake before, this is a good one to start with. Let's get started!
Jump to:
- Watch this quick video tutorial!
- Why You'll Love This Sweet Potato Pound Cake
- Ingredients You'll Need
- How to Make Sweet Potato Pound Cake
- LaKita's Expert Tips
- Variations & Substitutions
- Make-Ahead & Storage
- What to Serve with Sweet Potato Pound Cake
- Frequently Asked Questions
- 📖 Recipe
- Did You Make This Recipe?
Why You'll Love This Sweet Potato Pound Cake
- Bright, not heavy - Lemon extract in the batter and an orange glaze on top keep the sweet potato flavor from turning dense and one-note.
- Everything's already in your pantry - No cake flour, no buttermilk, no sour cream, no special trip to the store.
- Low and slow - Baking at 325°F takes a little longer, but it's why the crumb sets evenly and the top doesn't crack.
- It's better on day two - The flavor deepens overnight, which makes it one of the easiest desserts to make ahead for a holiday table.
Ingredients You'll Need
Here's everything you'll need to make this recipe.
- Sweet potatoes. Look for orange-fleshed varieties, at most grocery stores these are labeled garnet or jewel, and often sold as "yams," though true yams are a different vegetable entirely and rarely sold in the U.S. The orange-fleshed ones give you the best color, moisture, and natural sweetness. Japanese or white sweet potatoes will work but produce a much paler cake. If you love this ingredient as much as I do, my Easy Sweet Potato Pie uses the same approach to the puree.
- Butter. Salted or unsalted, whichever you keep on hand. It needs to be genuinely at room temperature. Not softened in the microwave, which melts it unevenly and changes the texture of the finished crumb.
- Lemon extract. This is the ingredient that makes this cake different from every other sweet potato pound cake, and it's the one people skip because they don't think it matters. It does. A small amount lifts the earthy sweet potato flavor and keeps the cake tasting bright rather than muddy. There's no good substitute, orange extract is the closest, but it changes the character.
- Vanilla extract. Pure, not imitation. It rounds out the spices and works with the lemon rather than against it.
- Nutmeg and cinnamon. Warm spice without turning this into a pumpkin pie. If you prefer more spice, see the Variations section below.
- All-purpose flour. Plain, nothing added. Whisk or sift it before measuring to break up lumps, and spoon it into your measuring cup rather than scooping. Scooping packs in more flour than the recipe intends and is the single most common cause of a dry pound cake.
- Baking powder and baking soda. Both, and each has a job. See the FAQ below for why.
- Granulated sugar, eggs, and salt. Standard pound cake foundation. Light brown sugar can substitute for the granulated if you want a slightly deeper, more molasses-forward flavor.
- For the Southern Orange Glaze: powdered sugar and fresh orange juice, with lemon juice as an alternative. Orange is my preference, it's rounder and pairs better with the spices.
👉🏾 See the recipe card below for exact quantities and full instructions.
How to Make Sweet Potato Pound Cake
Here's a quick overview of the process. Full step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Cook and Cool the Sweet Potatoes
You have two options here and they give genuinely different results. Boiling is faster and gives you a milder, cleaner sweet potato flavor. Roasting takes longer but caramelizes the natural sugars and gives the cake noticeably more depth, it's what I do when I'm not in a hurry. Whichever you choose, let the mashed sweet potatoes cool to room temperature before they go anywhere near the batter, because hot puree will start to cook the eggs and leave you with a lumpy, curdled mixture.
Step 2: Prepare the Pan Like It Owes You Money
Bundt pans have more grooves than any other pan in your kitchen, and every one of them is a place your cake can stick. Use shortening rather than butter. Butter contains milk solids that actually promote sticking, and work it into every crevice with your fingers or a pastry brush. Then dust with flour and tap out the excess. A baking spray that already contains flour also works well.
Step 3: Cream the Butter and Sugar Properly
This is where most pound cakes are won or lost. Beat the butter and sugar together for a full three to five minutes, until the mixture is pale, fluffy, and close to doubled in volume. You're not mixing, you're beating air into the fat, and that air is what gives a pound cake its tender crumb. If it still looks grainy and yellow, keep going.
Step 4: Build the Batter in the Right Order
Add the sweet potato first and beat until light, then add the eggs one at a time, letting each fully disappear before the next goes in. Adding them all at once can break the emulsion. Then add the dry ingredients slowly and stop the moment the flour streaks disappear. Every extra second past that point develops gluten and moves you toward a tough, dry cake. The extracts go in last.
Step 5: Bake Low, and Trust the Crumbs
Bake at 325°F. It takes longer than the 350°F most recipes call for, and that's the point, the lower temperature lets the center set before the outside overbakes, which is why this cake comes out with a smooth top instead of a cracked dome. Test in the thickest part of the ring, not near the edges. The tester should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. A completely clean tester on this cake means you've gone too far.
LaKita's Expert Tips
Here are my best tips for making this recipe turn out perfectly every time.
- If your bundt pan has a dark nonstick finish, start checking about ten minutes early. Dark pans conduct heat faster and will brown the crust before the center is done.
- After you pour the batter in, tap the pan firmly on the counter a few times. This releases trapped air pockets that would otherwise become tunnels through the finished cake.
- Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl at least twice while mixing. Sweet potato puree is heavy and tends to settle at the bottom where the beater doesn't reach.
- Let the cake rest in the pan on a wire rack for ten to fifteen minutes before inverting. Too early and it tears apart, too long and the sugars set and glue it to the pan.
- Glaze only after the cake is completely cool. Warm cake absorbs the glaze straight into the crumb instead of holding that white drip down the sides.
- If your glaze comes out too thin, add powdered sugar a spoonful at a time rather than dumping it in, it thickens fast and you can't easily go back.
- If the cake does stick, don't throw it out. Break it into a trifle with whipped cream, or serve it as a rustic cake with extra glaze poured over the top. Nobody has ever complained.
Variations & Substitutions
This recipe is flexible, here are some easy ways to make it your own.
- Toasted pecans - Fold chopped toasted pecans into the batter, or scatter them in the bottom of the greased pan before adding the batter so they end up on top after you flip it. If you love pecans in dessert, my Southern Pecan Pie is the natural next bake.
- Cream cheese glaze instead of citrus - If you want something richer and closer to a frosted layer cake, a cream cheese glaze works beautifully over this crumb. It's a different cake entirely, but a good one.
- Brown butter glaze - Melt butter until it turns golden and smells nutty, then whisk in powdered sugar and a splash of milk. Deeper and less bright than the orange version.
- More spice - Swap the cinnamon and nutmeg for pumpkin pie spice, or add a pinch of ground ginger if you like heat behind the sweetness.
- A grown-up version - A tablespoon of bourbon or dark rum in the batter, or a rum simple syrup brushed over the cooled cake before glazing.
- Starting from a box mix - I get asked this a lot. A yellow or spice cake mix with sweet potato puree folded in will get you a sweet potato cake faster, but it won't give you a pound cake. The crumb comes out lighter and springier rather than dense and buttery. If speed matters more than texture that day, it's a reasonable trade. If you want the real thing, the from-scratch version is genuinely not much harder.
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Make-Ahead & Storage
Make-Ahead
This cake is at its best on day two, which makes it unusually forgiving for holiday planning. Bake it one or two days ahead, let it cool completely, and store it covered at room temperature, the flavors settle and deepen overnight. Add the glaze the day you plan to serve it so it stays glossy. You can also cook and mash the sweet potatoes up to three days ahead and keep the puree covered in the refrigerator. Just bring it back to room temperature before mixing. If you're building out a full make-ahead dessert table, my Sweet Potato Dumplings hold beautifully the same way.
Storage & Reheating
Store the cooled cake in an airtight container or under a cake dome at room temperature for four to five days. The sugar in the glaze acts as a mild preservative, so a glazed cake keeps just as well as an unglazed one. To extend it to about a week, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate. It will firm up in the cold and soften again as it comes back to room temperature.
To freeze, cool completely, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then again in foil, and label with the date. Freeze the cake unglazed for the best appearance and add the glaze after thawing. Individual slices freeze well the same way. Thaw wrapped in the refrigerator overnight, then let the cake sit at room temperature for an hour or two before serving; single slices need about thirty to forty-five minutes on the counter.
To warm a slice, thirty seconds in the microwave at half power is enough, full power turns the crumb rubbery. For a whole cake, cover loosely with foil and warm at 300°F for about fifteen minutes.
What to Serve with Sweet Potato Pound Cake
Here are some of my favorite ways to serve this dish.
- A slice slightly warmed with vanilla ice cream melting into the crumb. My No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream doesn't need a machine and takes about ten minutes of actual work.
- Alongside the sweet potato casserole on a Thanksgiving table for people who want dessert but don't want pie. Try it with Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole.
- With a cup of black coffee for breakfast the next morning. The spices and the citrus wake up considerably against coffee.
- As part of a Southern dessert spread with Homemade Banana Pudding, the cool, creamy pudding is a good contrast to the dense cake.
- Plain, with fresh berries on the side for a little tartness and color.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, and it works well in a pinch. Use pure sweet potato puree, not sweet potato pie filling. The filling already has sugar and spices in it and will throw off the whole recipe. Drain off any standing liquid before measuring, since canned puree tends to hold more moisture than homemade. That said, roasted homemade puree gives you noticeably more flavor, and it's the difference between a good cake and a memorable one.
Boiling is faster and gives a cleaner, milder sweet potato flavor. Roasting takes considerably longer but caramelizes the natural sugars, which produces a deeper and more complex cake. I roast when I have the time and boil when I don't, and both make a cake I'm happy to serve. Either way, let the puree cool to room temperature first.
Yes. Two 9×5-inch loaf pans, three 8-inch round pans for a layer cake, or one 9×13-inch pan for a sheet cake version all work with this batter. Bake times will be shorter than the bundt. Start checking well before you think it's done and go by the toothpick, not the clock. See the recipe card notes for approximate times for each pan.
You can make a sweet potato cake with a box mix, but you won't get a pound cake. Pound cake gets its dense, buttery, tight crumb from the ratio of butter to flour and from creaming air in by hand. A box mix is formulated for a light, springy texture and will give you that instead. If you're short on time it's a fine shortcut. If what you want is an actual pound cake, make this one from scratch.
Absolutely, and it makes for a richer, more dessert-forward cake. Keep in mind it changes what this is. The orange glaze is there specifically to cut the sweetness and lift the sweet potato flavor, while cream cheese frosting leans into richness. Both are good. If you go the frosting route, wait until the cake is fully cool or it will slide right off.
Almost always one of three things. You didn't get grease into every groove. You used butter instead of shortening, and the milk solids in butter cause sticking, or you waited too long to invert it and the sugars set against the pan. Ten to fifteen minutes of resting is the window. If it's already stuck, run a thin knife around the edges, set the pan on a warm damp towel for a minute, and try again.
The most likely culprit is too much flour from scooping the measuring cup directly into the bag, which packs in significantly more than the recipe intends. Spoon and level instead. After that: overbaking by even five to ten minutes, overmixing after the flour goes in, or cold ingredients that never emulsified properly. This cake is meant to be moist, so pull it when the tester shows moist crumbs rather than waiting for it to come out clean.
You can, and some readers prefer it that way, especially when their sweet potatoes are particularly sweet. Cutting the sugar by about a quarter still gives you good structure and rise. Go much further than that and you'll notice it, sugar contributes moisture retention as well as sweetness, so a heavily reduced version bakes up drier and less tender.
They do different jobs. Baking powder provides most of the lift. Baking soda reacts with the natural acidity in the sweet potato and helps the cake brown properly, without it you'd get a paler, flatter cake. Check that both are still active before you bake; drop a little of each in water and they should fizz.
This is one of the best make-ahead desserts I know, because it genuinely improves overnight. Bake it one or two days before and keep it covered at room temperature, then glaze the morning you're serving. For further ahead than that, freeze it unglazed up to three months and thaw in the refrigerator the night before. It's one less thing to do on the day.
📖 Recipe
Sweet Potato Pound Cake Recipe
Video
Equipment
- 1 Tube or Bundt Pan
- 1 stand mixer or hand mixer
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 ½ cups cooked and mashed sweet potato
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
Instructions
- Clean 2 to 3 large sweet potatoes, peel off the skin, and cut them into large chunks. Place in a large pot and cover with water. Bring the sweet potatoes to a boil over high heat and allow them to cook until fork-tender, about 10 minutes.
- Drain all of the water off the sweet potatoes and use a potato masher to mash the sweet potatoes in the same pot.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour a bundt pan/tube pan and set it aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together the 3 cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
- Using a hand mixer on medium speed and a large bowl or a stand mixer, cream together the 1 cup butter and 2 cups granulated sugar.
- Add the 2 ½ cups mashed sweet potato to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until the batter is light and fluffy. Add the 4 large eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one.
- Slowly add dry ingredients until well combined and then add the 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and ½ teaspoon lemon extract.
- Pour the sweet potato pound cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees F. for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.
- Once the cake is finished, carefully remove it from the oven and allow the cake to sit in the pan on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Invert the cake on a serving plate before removing it from the pan. Allow the cake time to cool completely before slicing to serve.
- For a light glaze on the top of the cooled cake, mix 1 cup of powdered sugar with 3 Tablespoons of orange juice or lemon juice, and drizzle on top of the cake. Enjoy!
Did You Make This Recipe?
If you give this sweet potato pound cake a try, I'd love to know what you think! Leave a comment below, share a photo on Instagram and tag @SimplyLaKita, or save it on Pinterest for later. A star rating helps more than you know, it tells other home cooks the recipe is worth their time and their sweet potatoes. And if something didn't go the way you expected, tell me that too. I read every comment and I'm always happy to help you troubleshoot. If you're building out a whole holiday dessert table, my Eggnog Pound Cake is the one I make right after this one every December.
Anna says
Well the batter is amazing…
LaKita says
That’s wonderful to hear, thank you! 😊 The batter does taste amazing, doesn’t it? I hope the cake turns out just as delicious when you bake it. If you try it, I’d love to know how it finishes up! 🍠🍰
Boot says
Very easy and simply delicious.
LaKita says
Thank you so much 🙂
Healthtipsing says
Based on the other reviews, I have to try this again. I found it wayyy too sweet with 2 full cups of sugar. I'll reduce that considerably next time! I expect I'll get a 5-star cake then.
LaKita says
Yes, please feel free to reduce the amount of sugar as the sweetness of sweet potatoes varies greatly. Use what you feel is best and I want you to have a 5-star cake next time!!
Felicita says
Sweet potatoes are my comfort food! I know this pound cake tastes amazing and perfect with a cup of coffee. Can't wait to try this!
LaKita says
Thank you and I agree this would be so good with a cup of coffee 🙂
Kenya Rae says
If it has sweet potatoes I love it! simple as that! I may try this for Thanksgiving!
LaKita says
I agree...anything with sweet potato is perfect for this time of the year.
Summer Len Davis says
I've never heard of sweet potato poundcake, but now I want it to materialize on my table so I can eat it right up. I'm saving to make this THIS WEEK.
LaKita says
Thank you! This is a really good recipe to give a try 🙂
Akaleistar says
I've never had sweet potato pound cake, but this looks so good 🙂
admin says
It was my first time having it as well and it turned out pretty good.
Tamara says
Yes, sweet potatoes do speak fall to me. And they're such vitamin powerhouses! I remember learning that when my daughter was a baby and was starting on foods.
And THIS looks so good, and with a glaze!
admin says
Thank you and I love a good glaze 🙂
Adrianne Furlough says
I made this sweet potato pound cake this weekend, it turned out awesome, never heard nor had it before, but I'll be making this cake again for Thanksgiving!
LaKita says
Hi Adrianne! So happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe. It will be perfect to share on Thanksgiving.