Pumpkin/Sweet Potato Coffee Cake~

One might expect, in this first flush of spring, a recipe for, perhaps, strawberry shortcake. Indeed, the strawberries are in the market. However the the market still had a small basket of last-of-the-season sweet potatoes and I couldn't resist. So, while I really only have recipes for Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin____, around here we substitute mashed sweet potatoes for pumpkin pack with stunning success (canned pumpkin pack being either unavailable or too expensive and fresh pumpkin being too much bother to process). Most recently, this cake was a great addition to a recent afternoon outing to the hills of Gilead.


Pumpkin/Sweet Potato Coffee Cake
(or just great snack cake for hungry teenagers)

This recipe makes enough batter for three 8"x10", or one 9"x13" and one or two 8"x10" cakes. Freezes well.

3 eggs
3 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups mashed sweet potatoes ~or~1 30-ounce can pumpkin pack
1 cup canola oil
5 cups flour
1-2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking soda

Cream together eggs, sugar, sweet potato or pumpkin, and oil. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into greased pans and spring with crumb topping. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for about 30-40 minutes.

Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar (we like dark)
1 cup flour
1/4 pound butter, chilled
chopped pecans or walnuts

In a bowl, mix sugar and flour until blended. Cut the chilled butter into smaller pieces and rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add finely chopped pecans or walnuts to taste. If you have leftover crumb topping, it stores well in the freezer and makes a nice topping for muffins.