The very first time I made this recipe was for Thanksgiving dinner a few years back. I thought it was a total disaster. That was until I tasted it. You see the original recipe calls for pumpkin and I’m not that type of girl. So being that I LOVE sweet potatoes the Chef in me thought it would be clever to just substitute the two. After all they are kind of similar, right?  Anywho, the plan was set and the butter cake was made but as the saying goes you eat with your eyes first. And without even tasting the dessert I just knew I had messed up because it didn’t look nothing like the picture on the internet. And without a second thought we just pushed it to the side and opt’d for the other desserts.

Well as fate would have it all the other desserts were gone in record setting time and the only thing that was left was this concoction of sweet potatoes, powdered sugar and cake mix. My husband and I hesitated but decided Why Not? We have to try it at some point. And Boy O’ Boy was it good. We just looked at each other and proceeded to give the head nod of approval. And the rest is history.

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 small to medium sweet potatoes, baked & mashed
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Lightly oil hands and pat the mixture into the bottom 13 by 9-inch baking pan until covered evenly.

3. To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sweet potatoes until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread sweet potato mixture over cake batter crust and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

4. I like to serve my Sweet Potato Butter Cake slightly warm & with fresh whipped cream.

Original “pumpkin” recipe & photo courtesy of: Baking Is My Zen