The perfect holiday dessert! Warm and cozy with plenty of fall spices but super easy and you can easily make it ahead of time!
Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- Easy-to-make sweet potato pound cake is a show-stopper. The rum soak takes it over the top.
- This is an easy Fall dessert. It works as well with Thanksgiving dinner as it does with the office potluck.
- Soaking the cake in rum syrup makes it moist, adds flavor, and helps keep it fresh and delicious for days.
This delicious sweet potato pound cake has a delicate flavor, beautiful color, and velvety texture.
It's just right for any holiday gathering.
Definitely one of my favorite pound cake recipes - and I'll bet it will be yours, too.
🧾 Ingredients
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- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- ground cinnamon
- kosher salt
- sweet potato
- large eggs
- spiced rum
- granulated sugar (white sugar)
- light brown sugar
- butter
- vanilla extract
📖 Variations
- Add chopped pecans or walnuts
- Add cream cheese frosting
- Use brown butter (YouTube video) instead of plain melted butter.
- Use bourbon instead of rum.
🔪 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.
- Mash the cooked sweet potatoes.
- Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Whisk the eggs, melted butter, vanilla extract, white sugar, and brown sugar together in a large
mixing bowl . - Stir in the rum and mashed sweet potatoes.
- Add in the dry ingredients and pour batter into a prepared pan.
- Bake about an hour or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and proceed with the rum soak as in recipe card below.
🥄 Equipment
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You'll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- 12-cup bundt pan (I think this cake is only 10 cups but I like to make them in a 12 cup pan to be sure)
- electric mixer or stand mixer, optional - this can be made by hand
🥫 Storage
Southern sweet potato pound cake with rum will be fine at room temperature a little longer than most because of the rum. Cover with plastic wrap and it will stay moist and delicious for 5 days or so - but definitely keep an eye on it!
Freeze for longer storage. To freeze it you'll wrap in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil - or place it in an airtight freezer container and freeze it for up to 3 months.
💭 Tips
Expert Tip: Use a no-stick baking or cooking spray for the bundt pan. It's easier to make sure that all the crevices are greased and that the finished pound cake will not stick.
- This cake doesn't need a glaze but it's pretty sprinkled with a little confectioner's sugar when it's served.
- The flavor develops overnight so try to hold off until the next day.
- I suggest baking the sweet potatoes right in their skins to cook them. This gives them the most intense flavor. Poke with a fork and bake at 425F for about 40 to 50 minutes or until fork-tender, soft, and done.
- Freeze this in slices with parchment paper between the slices for easy thawing and serving.
👩🍳 FAQs
Some people may try to tell you that there is no difference between sweet potatoes and yams but that's not true. They're not even related! They are very similar but sweet potatoes almost always have a more delicate flavor. Yams have more starch and tend to be dryer. You can substitute one for the other but they are not the same.
You can stick a toothpick halfway between the center metal part and the edge and if it comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it it's done. Also, an instant-read thermometer will read 210F when the pound cake is done.
📚 Related recipes
- I love this easy gingerbread snack cake.
- You may also like my Whiskey Apple Cake. It's full of warm, holiday flavor - absolutely amazing!
📞 The last word
This one is for the sweet potato lover!
Unlike most of the rum cake recipes I have found, this one is from scratch start to finish. Well, you don't have to grow your own sweet potatoes or make your own rum — unless you want to, of course.
This is the best sweet potato pound cake I've ever tasted.
Pinkie swear.
Check out this tutorial for choosing, storing, and preparing sweet potatoes.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Rum Sweet Potato Pound Cake
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
Cake
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups sweet potato, cooked and mashed (about 1 ½ to 2 pounds)
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup spiced rum
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Syrup
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup water
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¾ cup spiced rum
Instructions
Sweet potatoes
- Pierce the sweet potato skins with a fork.
- Bake at 425°F for 40 minutes or until fork tender.
- Let cool and remove skin.
- Mash sweet potato with fork or pulse in a food processor until smooth. Don't add anything to it - you want plain sweet potato puree!
Cake
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 10 cup bundt pan with no-stick baking spray, nonstick cooking spray, or lightly grease and flour it.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Whisk the eggs, melted butter, vanilla, sugar, and brown sugar together in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. If using a mixer just mix on medium speed for a minute or so.
- Stir in the rum and mashed sweet potatoes until smooth.
- Add in the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until well blended. If using an electric mixer use low speed and just until all the dry ingredients are blended in - don't overmix.
- Spoon cake batter into prepared bundt pan. Give it a quick drop on the counter to get the air bubbles out.
- Bake about an hour or until a toothpick (or long wooden pick) inserted in the center comes out clean or it registers 210°F on an insta-read thermometer.
- Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
Syrup
- Combine the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a deep saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.
- Simmer it until it reduces just a little, about 2 more minutes.
- Remove from the heat add the rum carefully.
To soak
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Remove it from the pan completely.
- Now, put the cake right back in the pan (this will help it not to stick).
- Pour the syrup slowly over the warm cake, cover, and let stand for at least 24 hours.
- Invert onto a cake plate or serving plate and serve. It's pretty dusted with powdered sugar just before serving.
Notes
- The color of the cake will depend on the color of the sweet potato mixture. If it matters to you choose an orange variety of sweet potatoes.
- This cake doesn't need a glaze but it's pretty sprinkled with a little confectioner's sugar when it's served.
- I suggest baking the sweet potatoes right in their skins to cook them. This gives them the most intense flavor.
- Freeze this in slices with parchment paper inbetween the slices for easy thawing and serving.
- The flavor develops overnight so try to hold off until the next day.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
First published December 4, 2013. Last updated for editorial and structural improvements September 12, 2023.
Kathy McVay says
Thank you for sharing this recipe AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS
Ashlyn Simon says
Loved this so much! Delish!
Next time, I was wondering if you thought Pumpkin would substitute well for the sweet potatoes?
Marye says
You could but why not try this pumpkin bundt? https://www.restlesschipotle.com/browned-butter-pumpkin-bundt-cake/
Telma Dorcey says
Dear Marye,
May I serve the cake after 14 hours of soaking in the syrup? I don't see any more floating syrup? The butter did harden around the cake in the bundt pan. I have not flipped it over into the glass cake server. How do you recommend storing it?
Marye says
I store at room temp.
Ron says
Would you consider putting a glaze or icing on this cake?
Marye Audet says
Sure. A rum glaze would work well, or just dust with confectioner's sugar
Alandria says
Will this cake have a strong rum flavor like cake dipped in alcohol? I’m only asking because my husband and I don’t drink but we know that cooking or baking alcohol gives foods it a different type of flavor? Thanks! 🙂
Marye Audet says
yes. you can just leave it off the finished cake and substitute apple juice in the batter.
Monica says
I made this recipe exactly as written using regular sweet potatoes. I am an experienced home-baker and this is one of the best cakes I have ever made. The cake is very moist and the flavors are on point for a fall dessert. Thank you!
Marye Audet says
Thanks Monica! That's great to hear!
Lacy says
Joan do you cook the sweet potatoes? Bake them or boil them? Maybe it doesn't matter??
Marye Audet says
I bake mine - I think it gives them better flavor.
Dee Dee (My Midlife Kitchen) says
This looks ca-razy good. I need this in my life immediately if not sooner!
Elena says
This looks moist and delicious!
Marye Audet says
It does go well, Julie! Bourbon would be great too!
Melissa Falk says
Hi, Marye! This is a stunning cake recipe. Love the spicy rum content. Look forward to trying it myself. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Marye Audet says
Thank you so much!
Amy @ Accidental Happy Baker says
Last year I really, really wanted to make rum cake, but it just didn't happen. This year, I most definitely am going to do it. The texture of this cake looks amazing.
Marye Audet says
It is! Let me know what you think!
Lisa Huff @ Snappy Gourmet says
You had me at RUM! haha! 🙂 Looks fabulous! I really need to bake more with sweet potatoes and this looks like the perfect recipe to get started on that.
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
I am totally digging that fact that you added RUM to this cake! And with sweet potatoes?! GREAT COMBO!
Kimberly Villareal says
I am not sure why there have not been any comments since you wrote this post, but I definitely have baked this cake at least twice for Christmas and New Year's.
Betsy @ Desserts Required says
I love all the options you suggest for this delicious cake!
Amanda @ Cookie Named Desire says
This sounds great, and looks super moist. What is the difference between a regular sweet potato and an heirloom?
Marye Audet says
Heirlooms are varieties that have bee around for a long time. The flavors are usually very unique