The Cake

This is the cake I made for my two year old son's birthday. We had his party last weekend even though his birthday is this week. As you can see we had a farm theme for the party. It is a Sweet Potato Cake with a Brown Sugar Frosting. All of the animals and decorations are made from rolled fondant. The inside of the barrel is Rice Krispies treats that I stacked and cut into the shape I wanted. It's only 2 levels high. I made the mud out of cocoa powder, confectioner's sugar, and water. It came out to a perfect dark brown for the pigs to "roll" in. The carrots weren't in the original plan but I really liked them when I added them. I also had a little cake for Grayson to have himself. He's so cute because he wouldn't eat it until we gave him a fork to use. The cake was delicious though. I really wanted to do a cake flavor that was a little different and he loves sweet potatoes so I thought it was a natural fit and all of the guests loved it. I doubled the recipe to yield 2 10" cakes and a small one layer 4" cake.

Sweet Potato Cake

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
  
• 2 1/2 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust the position of the rack to the center of the oven. Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) pans or 3 (8-inch) pans. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and granulated sugar. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a mixer, cream butter and brown sugar on low speed, and then increase speed to medium and beat until well-combined. Gradually add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each egg and scraping down the sides of the bowl after the addition of each egg. Add vanilla and sweet potatoes and blend on low speed until thoroughly mixed.
4. Pour batter into pans and smooth the surface with a metal spatula. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; when you touch the center of the cake, it should spring back. Allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes, and then invert onto a rack and cool completely.

Brown Sugar Frosting

• 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until fluffy.
2. Add brown sugar; beat until well blended.
3. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup (scant) at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Beat in orange juice concentrate and vanilla. Chill until firm enough to spread, about 30 minutes.