Christmas Pound Cake

It started out when a co-worker pressed a recipe into my hand that came from a friend of hers, the late Colonel James Manning, whose grandmother had made this cake every year over the holidays.  "This is for a Sweet Potato Pound Cake and I think you would enjoy it," she said.  "It's become a tradition in our family, too."

The next day, another co-worker brought a little brown bag containing freshly dug, organic, purple sweet potatoes from a friend in King.  "I thought you would enjoy these," she said as she put the bag into my hands.

The cake was destined to happen.  I call it my Christmas Cake.

Local, organic sweet potatoes of a most exquisite color.

After roasting in the oven for an hour, their color was even more vibrant.

Surprise!  During the baking process the cake turned from purple to green.

Christmas Pound Cake

1 cup of butter (1/2 pound)
2 cups of sugar
2 1/2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes or yams (I used purple organic)
4 eggs at room temperature
3 cups of white flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixture until light and fluffy. Add the potatoes and beat well.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the dry ingredients in a seperate bowl and then add to the creamy mixture slowly. Add the vanilla and beat well. Pour the batter into a greased and floured tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees F. for 1 to 1 1/4 hours until knife inserted comes out clean. Glaze warm cake with a mixture of 1 cup of confectioner's sugar and 2 - 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice.

Note:  The cake lost a bit of its vibrant green color a day after baking, so if you are using purple sweet potatoes for the cake, eat the same day if color matters to you.  Obviously, the taste will not be affected.