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Home » Recipes » Desserts

Last Updated: Aug 16, 2023 by Angela Latimer · Leave a Comment

Sweet Potato Coffee Cake

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Best sweet potato coffee cake recipe pin with two images of the baked coffee cake dessert and text heading box.

This sweet potato coffee cake is a wonderfully delicious and moist cake that is perfect for any time of the day! It's loaded with tasty sweet potatoes, warm baking spices, honey, and vanilla! Finally, this cake is sprinkled with a sweet, crumbly oat topping that is completely irresistible!

Easy Sweet Potato Cake Recipe

If you love sweets as much as I do, you are probably completely thrilled at the thought of enjoying cake for breakfast! This tasty treat has all of the flavors of a sweet potato pie but in cake form!

The cake is moist, delicious, and topped off with an oatmeal streusel that is truly addicting. I can't imagine a better way to start your day than with a hot cup of coffee and a slice of this sweet potato coffee cake!

Square slice of sweet potato coffee cake on a light background with several other squares nearby.
This easy sweet potato coffee cake is moist, sweet, and incredibly delicious!
Jump to:
  • Easy Sweet Potato Cake Recipe
  • 🥘 Sweet Potato Coffee Cake Ingredients
  • 🔪 How To Make Sweet Potato Coffee Cake
  • 💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
  • 🥡 Storing
  • ❓ Recipe FAQs
  • 🍂 More Sweet Potato Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe Card
  • 💬 Comments & Reviews

Take a look at my coffee cake mug cake, maraschino cherry coffee cake, and Bisquick coffee cake for more brunch-worthy treats!

🥘 Sweet Potato Coffee Cake Ingredients

This recipe is loaded with warm spices, sweet potatoes, and standard baking ingredients! No coffee included, but feel free to enjoy this cake while you drink some!

Sweet potato coffee cake ingredients for the batter and topping measured out and ready to mix, assemble, and bake.

Sweet Potato Coffee Cake

  • Brown Sugar - ½ cup of light brown sugar, packed.
  • Honey - ¼ cup of honey.
  • Butter - ¼ cup of room temperature butter. Find out the best methods for softening butter here.
  • Egg - 1 large egg at room temperature.
  • Mashed Sweet Potatoes - 1 cup of mashed sweet potatoes. Take a look at my recipe for mashed sweet potatoes!
  • Vanilla - ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.
  • Baking Soda - 2 teaspoons of baking soda.
  • Cinnamon - 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
  • Cloves - 1 teaspoon of ground cloves.
  • Nutmeg - ½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
  • Salt - ½ teaspoon of salt.
  • Flour - 2 cups of all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled.

Oatmeal Topping

  • Flour - ⅓ cup of all-purpose flour.
  • Brown Sugar - ⅓ cup of light brown sugar, packed.
  • Oats - ⅓ cup of old-fashioned rolled oats.
  • Butter - ¼ cup of room temperature butter.
  • Cinnamon - 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*

🔪 How To Make Sweet Potato Coffee Cake

Coffee cake is easy to make, and you don't have to bother frosting it! You will need an 8x8 (or 9x9) baking dish, a stand mixer, a mixing bowl, a silicon spatula, and your measuring utensils.

This recipe will make one 8x8 sweet potato coffee cake dish, which can be cut into nine generous servings.

Prepare the Cake Batter

Sweet potato coffee cake process photo 1 add the butter, light brown sugar, vanilla extract, and maple syrup.
Sweet potato coffee cake process photo 2 add egg to the creamed butter, sugar, and syrup.
Sweet potato coffee cake process photo 3 add the mashed sweet potato.
Sweet potato coffee cake process photo 4 add baking spices, baking soda, and salt.
Sweet potato coffee cake process photo 5 add the all-purpose flour.
Sweet potato coffee cake process photo 6 then combine until just incorporated.
  1. Preheat. To get started, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and lightly grease an 8x8 baking dish.
  2. Beat. In a large mixing bowl (or your stand mixer), beat together ½ cup of brown sugar, ¼ cup of honey, and ¼ cup of softened butter until nice and creamy. Then, beat in 1 egg.
  3. Add. Add 1 cup of mashed sweet potato and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract and beat again, stopping to scrape down the mixing bowl as necessary.
  4. Add spices. Next, beat in 2 teaspoons of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of cloves, ½ teaspoon of nutmeg, and ½ teaspoon of salt until all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
  5. Incorporate flour. In small increments, slowly stir in 2 cups of flour and mix until just combined. You don't want to overmix the batter. Then pour the batter into your prepared baking dish and smooth the top of the batter out with a silicone spatula. *The batter will be very thick.

Make the Topping & Bake

Sweet potato coffee cake process photo 7 dry streusel topping ingredients in a small to medium-sized mixing bowl.
Sweet potato coffee cake process photo 8 dry ingredients combined and softened butter added to make the streusel.
Sweet potato coffee cake process photo 9 fully combined streusel oat topping for the coffee cake.
Sweet potato coffee cake process photo 10 transfer the batter into an 8x8 baking dish.
Sweet potato coffee cake process photo 11 then top with the streusel topping.
  1. Mix the topping. In a mixing bowl, mix ⅓ cup each of flour, brown sugar, and oats, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon until evenly distributed. Add in ¼ cup of softened butter and mix well.
  2. Top the cake. Sprinkle the oat topping mixture over the cake batter.
  3. Bake. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  4. Cool. Allow the cake to cool in the pan before serving.

Serve your sweet potato coffee cake with a nice warm cup of your favorite type of coffee! Add on a dollop of whipped cream for an extra special treat! Enjoy!

💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes

  • Be careful not to overmix your batter. As soon as the flour is distributed, stop mixing!
  • The batter for this cake is very thick (similar to cookie dough). Just use a silicone spatula to spread it into your baking dish evenly. 
  • If you use canned sweet potatoes, try to find pure unsweetened sweet potatoes. If you use canned yams in syrup, it will be much sweeter!
  • The easiest way to get mashed sweet potatoes is to pierce two large sweet potatoes with a fork. Then, pop them in the microwave for 6 minutes or until soft. Slice them open and use a fork to mash them!
Wide closeup on a sliced square of the best sweet potato coffee cake on light background with crumbs and assorted pieces around it.

🥡 Storing

Keep leftovers tightly covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. There's no need to store it in the fridge! If you want to warm up the cake, just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds. However, it is just as yummy at room temperature!

>>>>See all of my recipes here<<<<

❓ Recipe FAQs

Does Coffee Cake Actually Have Coffee In It?

The term "coffee cake" just means that the cake is meant to be served alongside a cup of coffee as a snack, brunch, or breakfast dish (as opposed to dessert).
There are tons of different flavors and variations for coffee cake, and they do not contain any coffee unless it is specifically coffee-flavored!

What Is The Difference Between Coffee Cake And Regular Cake?

The main difference is that coffee cake typically has a streusel-based topping and is not frosted. They are an ideal choice for people who do not like frosting or icing!

Should Sweet Potato Coffee Cake Be Served Warm?

This cake tastes delicious warm, at room temperature, or even cold! Store your cake at room temperature (no need to be refrigerated), but feel free to pop it in the microwave if you like it better warm!

Sweet potato coffee cake recipe baked until tender and golden in an 8x8 glass baking dish.

🍂 More Sweet Potato Recipes

  • Sweet Potato Casserole - A holiday favorite topped off with sweet marshmallows!
  • Sweet Potato Cornbread - Mashed sweet potatoes and warm spices give a tasty twist to typical cornbread!
  • Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes - Tender sweet potatoes are coated in nutmeg and cinnamon syrup!
  • Microwave Baked Sweet Potatoes - Whip up some baked sweet potatoes so much faster than if you used the oven!
  • Sweet Potato Tart - A creamy tart with a shortcrust pastry and a marshmallow meringue topping!
  • Sweet Potato Sushi - A vegetarian dish with sweet potato, sticky rice, and nori!

Do you love a recipe you tried? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
Stay in touch with me through social media @ Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter! Subscribe to the newsletter today (no spam, I promise)! Don't forget to tag me when you try one of my recipes!

📖 Recipe Card

Wide closeup on a sliced square of the best sweet potato coffee cake on light background with crumbs and assorted pieces around it.
Print Recipe Leave A Comment
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5 from 23 reviews

Sweet Potato Coffee Cake

This sweet potato coffee cake is a wonderfully delicious and moist cake that is perfect for any time of the day! It's loaded with tasty sweet potatoes, warm baking spices, honey, and vanilla! Finally, this cake is sprinkled with a sweet, crumbly oat topping that is completely irresistible!
Author | Angela Latimer
Servings: 9 servings
Calories: 349kcal
Prep 5 minutes minutes
Cooking 30 minutes minutes
Total Time 35 minutes minutes
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Ingredients
 

Sweet Potato Coffee Cake

  • ½ cup light brown sugar (packed)
  • ¼ cup honey
  • ¼ cup butter (softened at room temperature)
  • 1 large egg (room temperature)
  • 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

Topping

  • ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
  • ⅓ cup light brown sugar (packed)
  • ⅓ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • ¼ cup butter (softened at room temperature)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)

Help Us Out!If you love a recipe, be sure to come back and share your ratings. This helps future users, and allows me to continue sharing free recipes! Angela

Instructions
 

  • To get started, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and lightly grease an 8x8 baking dish.
  • In a large mixing bowl (or your stand mixer), beat together your brown sugar, honey, and softened butter until nice and creamy. Then, beat in the egg.
  • Add in the mashed sweet potato and vanilla extract and beat again, stopping to scrape down the mixing bowl as necessary.
  • Next, beat in the baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt until all of the ingredients are well incorporated.
  • In small increments, slowly stir in the flour until just combined. You don't want to over-mix the batter. Then pour the batter into your prepared baking dish and smooth it out with a silicone spatula.
  • In a mixing bowl, mix together your flour, brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon until evenly distributed. Add in the butter and mix well.
  • Sprinkle the oat topping mixture over the cake batter.
  • Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  • Allow the cake to cool in the pan before serving.

Notes

  • Be careful not to overmix your batter. As soon as the flour is distributed, stop mixing!
  • The batter for this cake is very thick (similar to cookie dough). Just use a silicone spatula to evenly spread it into your baking dish. 
  • If you use canned sweet potatoes, try to find pure unsweetened sweet potatoes. If you use canned yams in syrup, it will be much sweeter!
  • The easiest way to get some mashed sweet potatoes is to pierce two large sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Then, pop them in the microwave for 6 minutes, or until soft. Slice them open and use a fork to mash them!
  • To store: Keep leftovers tightly covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 349kcal (17%) | Carbohydrates: 58g (19%) | Protein: 5g (10%) | Fat: 11g (17%) | Saturated Fat: 7g (44%) | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 48mg (16%) | Sodium: 477mg (21%) | Potassium: 143mg (4%) | Fiber: 2g (8%) | Sugar: 28g (31%) | Vitamin A: 2443IU (49%) | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 41mg (4%) | Iron: 2mg (11%)
Did you try this recipe? Rate it below!I can’t wait to see your results! Mention @bake_it_with_love or tag #bake_it_with_love!
Course Breakfast, Breakfast Recipes, Brunch Recipes, Cake Recipes, Dessert
Cuisine American
« Lunch Ideas
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Hi there, I'm Angela

I am an avid vintage cookbook collector, cook, baker, and total foodie. I love sharing new, fun, creative recipes and great classic recipes, just like my Grandma used to make! Every recipe on BIWL is tested to ensure that cooks of any experience level can succeed.

Welcome to Bake It With Love. Enjoy!

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