Nov 01, 2022, Updated Mar 01, 2023
Moist Sweet Potato Cupcakes
You’ve gotta make these soft, fluffy sweet potato cupcakes with warm spices and toasted marshmallow frosting. They are a delicious fall treat made with sweet potato and spices, like nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon. With the fluffy topping, they’re like a sweet potato casserole in dessert form. I love this casual departure from the typical pumpkin desserts that are everywhere. Start with canned sweet potato puree, or by roasting sweet potato from scratch. The extra moisture in the sweet potato helps keep these cupcakes super tender and irresistible.
Buy sweet potatoes, not yams
Be sure to buy orange sweet potatoes, not true yams (which are either brown or purple on the outside and white and starchy on the inside). I say “true yams” because in North America we often refer to sweet potatoes as yams (yam fries, anyone?). You want the sweet potatoes typically used in American cooking, which are brownish-orange on the outside and orange on the inside. The sweet potatoes you need for this recipe look like the ones in the photo below.
How can I make my cupcakes moist?
To make sure your cupcakes don’t dry out, you’ve gotta use these pro secrets to moist cupcakes:
Weigh your flour to ensure moist cupcakes every time. A bit too much flour added by inaccurately measuring by volume can make ANY cupcake recipe dense and dry. If you do not have a kitchen scale, fluff your flour in the bag, then lightly spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off. Check for doneness using a thermometer, not a toothpick. This ensures the cupcakes come out of the oven as soon as they are finished baking. Over-baking is another reason why cupcakes turn out dry. Don’t over-mix the batter once the liquids are added. The more you mix, the more likely your cupcakes will turn out dense and not fluffy. The goal is to just combine the ingredients. Don’t use an electric mixer, just a large mixing bowl and a big ol’ silicone spatula. Use oil instead of butter. Oil is fluid at room temperature, while butter firms back up to solid. This difference does impact the texture of the final cupcake, with an oil-based cupcake being more moist.
How to make marshmallow frosting
There are a few different methods to make a 7-minute frosting like this.
My favourite, most successful way is whipping the frosting fully over the boiling water bath until it is done. The continuous heat ensures the sugar stays liquid for the entire time it takes for the whites to whip up. It is key to use a very small amount of water in the saucepan under the bowl. An inch, no more. The water should not come close to touching the bottom of the vessel with the sugar, or the sugar may crystallize. Finally, cream of tartar is absolutely non-negotiable. Buy it. Only use it twice a year. Don’t regret it. It makes for the most beautiful, strong peaks and swirls that hold forever and ever.
Decorating the cupcakes
If you don’t have a kitchen torch you can toast the frosted cupcakes by placing them on a baking sheet and placing them under the broiler very briefly (and watching VERY carefully). You may frost the cupcakes with whipped cream and dust them with ground cinnamon for a super simple frosting option. Cream cheese frosting like the one used for these Spiced Parsnip Cupcakes is another great substitute.
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