Caramel-Frosted Potato Cake
I am 90 years old and have been baking this cake every Christmas for 65 years! My sister-in-law gave me the recipe in 1941 and it has been in demand since. My grandchildren have never been able to figure out why it's called a potato cake since it doesn't taste like potatoes.
I am 90 years old and have been baking this cake every Christmas for 65 years! My sister-in-law gave me the recipe in 1941 and it has been in demand since. My grandchildren have never been able to figure out why it's called a potato cake since it doesn't taste like potatoes.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- frosting:
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1 cup mashed potatoes without added milk and butter
- 2 ounces german sweet chocolate melted
- 2 tablespoons whole milk to 4 tablespoons
- Carbohydrate 51.1208116778334 g
- Cholesterol 193.021354218462 mg
- Fat 55.88401387534 g
- Fiber 1.85866232549108 g
- Protein 7.75070115190977 g
- Saturated Fat 31.1254385853127 g
- Serving Size 1 1 -16 (182g)
- Sodium 9976.65230296228 mg
- Sugar 49.2621493523423 g
- Trans Fat 4.28509389246275 g
- Calories 720 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, potatoes and chocolate. Combine the flour, baking soda, nutmeg and cloves; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in walnuts.
- In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into batter. Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan.
- Bake at 350degrees for 55-60 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For frosting, in a small saucepan, melt butter. Add brown sugar; cook and stir over low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; cool for 3 minutes. Stir in the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to achieve a thick pouring consistency. Pour over cake.
Avoiding the Dense-Crumb Trap
Many bakers mistakenly dump batter straight into standard round pans without calculating volumetric capacity, which leads to overflows when the chemical leaveners react with the dairy and sugar. Because this batter relies on whipped egg whites folded at the final stage for its lift, crushing those air bubbles by over-mixing or using a restricted vessel destroys the targeted crumb structure. Utilizing a 10-inch fluted tube pan provides the central chimney necessary for even heat distribution through dense, fat-heavy batters containing melted chocolate and mashed spuds.
Adjusting Batches in Limited Spaces
Halving this formulation requires precise arithmetic with the four separated eggs, meaning you must beat whole eggs and divide the weight by half or rely on liquid whole-egg equivalents measured by volume. Standard kitchen ovens struggle to maintain consistent ambient heat when crowded with multiple oversized pans, so batch baking sequentially on the center rack at 350 degrees Fahrenheit yields far superior crust browning. When scaling down the frosting, reduce the confectioners' sugar gradually until the mixture achieves a thick pouring consistency that coats the back of a spoon without running entirely off the edges.
Fresh versus Prepared Components
Starch composition shifts dramatically depending on whether you use freshly boiled tubers or leftover mashed potatoes containing hidden dairy fats. Unsalted, plain boiled potatoes yield predictable hydration levels, whereas leftover variants loaded with extra cream will alter the moisture balance and demand an adjustment in the all-purpose flour ratio. Melt the German sweet chocolate gently over low heat, ensuring the temperature never exceeds 115 degrees Fahrenheit before incorporation to prevent seizing the butter-sugar emulsion.
