Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Marshmallow Cream Frosting

It just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without the yams or sweet potatoes. Consider this recipe Thanksgiving in a cupcake.

Although… I’m pretty sure the pilgrims didn’t have marshmallow frosting back in the day. 😕

Minor details.

If you wish to take it one step further and stuff the cupcakes with cranberry jelly after baking, by all means go ahead!

Sweet Potato Cupcakes

(makes 10-11)

• 1/2 cup milk of choice
• 1/2 cup sweet potato puree
• 2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil or melted coconut oil (35g)
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
• 1 cup spelt flour or all-purpose flour (Or sub 1 cup Bob’s gf flour plus 1/2 tsp xanthan gum)
• 1/2 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, coconut sugar, or xylitol
• pinch pure stevia extract, or 1 extra tbsp sugar of choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a cupcake tin or line with cupcake liners, and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, sweet potato, vanilla, oil, and vinegar. Let sit at least 5 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients and stir very well. Pour wet into dry, and stir until just evenly mixed. Pour evenly into cupcake tins. Make sure the batter fills only a little over half of each cupcake tin, as it will rise considerably as it cooks. Bake 19-20 minutes, or until cupcakes have risen and are lightly golden. Let cool 15 minutes before removing from the cupcake tins.

Marshmallow Frosting: (For a coconut-free alternative, simply use something like Ricemellow Crème as your frosting instead.)

• 1 can full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream
• pinch pure stevia, or 2-3 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp marshmallow extract (such as this)

Open the coconut milk (try not to shake it before opening), and if it’s not already super-thick, leave the can in the fridge overnight. It should get very thick. If it doesn’t, you’ve gotten a can that won’t work for the recipe. I recommend Thai Kitchen Organic or—for a foolproof option, use coconut cream such as Trader Joe’s. (Hint: shake the can when you’re at the store. If you can hear the liquidy contents swishing around, it’s probably too thin to work for this recipe.) Once thick, transfer only the creamy coconut cream to a bowl and whip in your sweetener and extract with a fork or with beaters if you want to be really fancy. Due to the perishable nature of the whipped cream, it’s best to frost the cupcakes immediately before serving.

View Nutrition Facts

Question of the Day:

What are your favorite ways to eat yams or sweet potatoes?

If you need inspiration, see the following link:  Healthy Sweet Potato Recipes.

Side note: I normally try very hard to not mention current events or anything not directly related to food and recipes (as it’s a slippery slope – there are so many causes, and how can you deem one cause more important than any of the others?). However, due to the magnitude, I feel compelled to mention the typhoon in the Philippines. Please take a few seconds today to visit your favorite reputable charity’s website, such as Red Cross or UNICEF, to find out how you can help.