Earlier this week, NPR ran a story about All Things Considered producer Melissa Gray, who just published a cookbook called All Cakes Considered: A Year's Worth of Weekly Recipes Tasted, Tested, and Approved by the Staff of All Things Considered. Gray bakes a cake and brings it into her office every Monday morning. Several people who heard the NPR story said it reminded them of me, since I bring baked goods into my office every week as well.Gray was nice enough to provide a recipe for a sweet potato pound cake that looked scrumptious. I was glad to find the perfect occasion to give it a try, a pumpkin-carving party hosted by our friends Jim and Colleen last night. Jim and Colleen were nice enough to provide dinner and deal with the gobs of pumpkin seeds and guts that we scooped and piled all over their kitchen table.
This cake took quite a while to prepare because of the need to roast the sweet potatoes, mash them, and wait for them to cool. The batter was a pretty orange color and the cake smelled wonderful as it baked. The cake rose quite a bit in the oven and came out looking beautiful (I left a small portion it devoid of nuts for Colleen, who has a nut allergy). I had a suspicion that the cake would go well with ice cream, and since I didn't have enough time to make any (if I had, I would have made maple ice cream), Jim was nice enough to pick up some vanilla ice cream at the store.
The finished cake was very dense and heavy. The sweet potatoes definitely give this cake a distinctive flavor, although I'm guessing if you gave a slice to someone who didn't now what was in it, she wouldn't be able to identify the sweet potato and would think it was just a spice cake. The diced granny smith apple was completely undetectable, and the sweet pecan topping was a wonderful complement. With ice cream, this cake was outstanding. On its own, I think it's a little heavy. But still, it's unusual and tasty, and I will probably have to make one to bring in to my office one of these days!Recipe: Missy G's Sweet Potato Pound Cake, from All Cakes Considered: A Year's Worth of Weekly Recipes Tasted, Tested, and Approved by the Staff of All Things Considered by Melissa Gray.
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