White Chocolate Sweet Potato Pecan Topped Cakes

Southern Comfort: Sweet potatoes, cake and white chocolate meet in one mighty mini bundt. Pecans interject a yummy crunch to a marriage of moist cake and white chocolate coating.

Adapted from Southern Living’s The Southern Cake Book

Yields 24 mini bundts and approximately 24 mini muffin-sized cakes

Ingredients: 
  • 4 large room-temperature eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups pureed sweet potatoes
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips (for cake)
  • 12 ounces of white chocolate chips (for ganache cake coating)
  • ½ cup heavy cream
Directions: 

Prep:
Spray mini bundt pans with lots and lots of baking spray. Place mini cupcake cases into mini muffin tins.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whip together the eggs and sugar for 3 to 5 minutes in a kitchen stand mixer. (Aim for a pale lemon color.) Reduce the speed and add the oil and vanilla. Beat in the sweet potato puree.

In a separate bowl: Sift the flour, spices, salt, baking powder and soda.

Add one-third of the dry ingredients to the sweet potato, egg and sugar bowl. Combine well. Pour in half of the buttermilk. Add another third of the flour mixture. Pour in the remaining buttermilk. Dump the remaining flour mixture into the bowl of the mixer and beat. Stir in the one cup of white chocolate chips.

Divide the batter among the mini bundt pans and mini cupcake cases. Bake for 16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centers is clean.

Cool for 5 to 10 minutes before removing from the tins. (Gently running a frosting spatula around the edges helps to easily release the mini bundts from the pans.)

For the ganache: Heat the heavy cream over low to medium heat. When little bubbles emerge, pour the hot cream over the white chocolate chips. Vigorously stir until all the chocolate dissolves. Allow the ganache to stand for 5 minutes or more.

Dunk the mini sweet potato cakes into the ganache. Garnish with pecans.