Sweet Potato Praline Pecan Cake

I've never made anything praline before, but I must say this turned out delicious!  The sweet potatoes make the cake extremely moist and give it a very nice consistency.  This cake would stand fine on its own as something to have with coffee even without the icing and praline pecans. The icing and pecans take a few extra steps but definitely kick it up a notch and are highly recommended!

Cream together butter and sugar called for in the cake recipe using an electric mixer.

Add eggs and vanilla, then mix until they're combined. Put in the sweet potatoes and mix well. 

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Mix until combined. Add flour to the sweet potato mixture a little at a time and mix well.

Put the cake batter into a 9" cake pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  You could also use a square pan and make bars.  Bake for twenty to twenty five minutes at 350 until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean. 

 Now to make the super delicious icing!  Melt butter in a small saucepan along with brown sugar called for in icing recipe over medium high heat.  Turn down the heat to medium low and boil for two minutes.  Add the half and half and return to a boil, stirring constantly, then remove from heat.  I didn't have half and half so I just used milk and everything turned out fine. 

Pour the butter sugar mixture into a bowl.  Add the icing sugar a little at a time. 

Mix the icing well!  I used a spoon but you could probably stand to use an electric mixer here.  I used the entire amount of icing sugar called for in the recipe and my icing was very stiff.  If you would like something a little runnier or that would spread easier feel free to use less. 

Place the butter and brown sugar called for in the praline pecan recipe into a microwave safe container.  Cook for 20 seconds, stir then cook for another 20. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and bake at 350 for about 5 minutes or until deep golden.   If you're pressed for time or just don't feel like it, you could easier use raw pecans on this cake without impacting its deliciousness. 

Let the cake cool for about fifteen to twenty minutes before topping.  Finish your creation by spreading the icing on top of the cake and topping with pecans. 

Cake or Bars
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes, you could also use canned, fresh mashed or pureed pumpkin
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Praline icing
½ cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
¼ cup half and half
2 cups powdered sugar

Praline Pecans
2 teaspoons butter
2 tablesoons brown sugar
1 cup roughly chopped pecans

adapted from: The Cafe Sucre Farine