Sweet Potatoes and Cornmeal

I know that these two ingredients sound like there should be a savory outcome, though that wasn't my idea. And, for once, it appeared to be a pretty novel idea. 

Most of the time, when I sit thinking about what I would like to try, despite how unusual the combinations may seem in my mind, I will find on hunting online that it is not a new idea at all, but one that hundreds of people have already done before. This just says to me that the combination is a sound one, and reinforces my belief that there is really nothing new at all. 

Sweet Potato Cornmeal Cake

Tweaking an existing recipe can result in something totally new. Sometimes new is better, but sometimes not. That is what experimentation is all about. It is rare for me to make a recipe just "as is." I can't help myself. The reason is often simply just that maybe an ingredient doesn't appeal and I take flavors into a different direction. In this particular case, there was only one recipe I could find for a cake made with sweet potato and cornmeal. It seemed unusually long and complex, with too many tiny amounts of things I don't keep on hand, like a tablespoon each of apple juice and orange juice. 

One tablespoon. 

Each. 

Really? 

Anyway, when I first gave thought to sweet potato and cornmeal together in a cake, I knew:

1. I wanted it to be a tube cake
2. I wanted about half and half cornmeal and all-purpose flour
3. It would be a heavy cake, sort of pound cake style
4. I thought of using a glaze instead of other icing

When looking at ingredients in some other cakes of this type, a lot of oil is used. I know whether it is butter or oil, it is fat. I first went with the idea of using olive oil, but then switched to coconut oil when I thought of using coconut milk for the liquid and orange extract for the flavoring. I felt that orange and coconut would be a nice combo. I did lower the amount of oil and used applesauce for part of it, to conserve a few calories (but who am I kidding?). I thought of whether to use 3 or 4 eggs, finally going with four, since it is a heavy cake. How much sweet potato? I had two of them, and weighed them before peeling. They came to just barely over one pound. I peeled them and cooked them in salted water, drained them and put them through a ricer (though mashed would have been fine), and measured out 1½ cups. There was just a little left, which I ate for lunch.😀 

Sweet Potato Cornmeal Cake

Something else that occurred to me, going with a somewhat tropical theme (coconut oil, coconut milk and orange extract) was using fresh ginger. I've never used fresh ginger in a sweet application, though I use it all the time in savory. Why is that? So I got out my ginger root. 

The idea of a glaze - didn't quite go as well as I had wanted, because I thought the glaze would penetrate the cake more than it did. In the pan, hot from the oven, while some glaze did penetrate, it left the top of the cake so sticky that once it came out of the pan and onto the plate slightly off center - there was no budging it! It was there to stay. Since I had glaze left, I drizzled it over the partially cooled cake, and it looked far prettier.

All in all, the ingredients came together easily, the cake baked perfectly, came out of the pan just right. But then, I had some sort of stomach flu all day yesterday, so I could not even think of tasting it. 😨 My husband was happy though, and that is always good! Today I gave it a taste, and I am happy as well. It has a very pronounced flavor of cornmeal. I love cornmeal, and that is why I wanted to use it half and half with the flour. If you cannot think about "cornmeal" and "sweet," in the same sentence, then this cake would not be for you. For myself, I am very pleased with it.

Sweet Potato Cornmeal Cake

Makes one 10-inch tube cake

Sweet Potato Cornmeal Cake

¾ - 1 pound sweet potatoes
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup coconut oil or vegetable oil
½ cup applesauce (or another half cup of coconut oil)
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
1½ teaspoons orange extract
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
-----
1½ cups yellow cornmeal
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

GLAZE:
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cane or corn syrup
⅓ cup buttermilk
¼ teaspoon baking soda

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 1½-inch chunks. Place the sweet potato chunks in a small pan and just barely cover with water. Add a teaspoon of salt and bring to boil. Lower heat and cook until easily pierced with a knife. Drain the sweet potatoes, then mash or rice. Measure out 1½ cups of the puree and place into a mixing bowl. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With cooking spray, grease a 10-inch tube pan, then sprinkle with flour to coat well. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together well and set aside.

To the sweet potatoes, add in the sugar, coconut oil, applesauce, coconut milk, ginger and extracts and stir well to blend. Add in the eggs, one at a time, stirring to completely incorporate before adding the next.

Stir in the dry ingredients a third at a time, allowing all the flour to be mixed in before adding in the next third. Once all the ingredients are mixed, pour the batter into the prepared tube pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake for approximately 55 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack or a plate and drizzle with the glaze. 

GLAZE:  Before the cake is done baking, make the glaze. Stir together the granulated sugar with the cane (or corn) syrup and buttermilk to combine. Bring the mixture to boil, then lower the heat and add the ¼ teaspoon baking soda. Simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for about 5 or 6 minutes. Let cool slightly before using to glaze the cake.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.