Sweet Potato & Rum Raisin Cake

Filled with autumnal spices and topped with a buttered pecan rum sauce, this is the perfect pick-up treat for a holiday dessert party. (Photo source: Dená Brummer)

| Yield: 3 dozen | Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes |

Ingredients

Cake

¾ cup golden raisins

⅓ cup dark rum

3 cups flour

2 cups of sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt,

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups of sweet potatoes, roasted and smashed

¾ cup of silken tofu

Glaze

½ cup packed dark brown sugar

¼ cup unsalted vegan butter

1 tablespoon reserved rum from cake recipe

1/4 cup of raisins and halved pecans

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a nonreactive bowl, soak raisins in the rum for at least 30 minutes.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices.

Add in the silken tofu until well blended.

Drain raisins, reserving rum. Fold raisins into batter.

Spoon batter into 3 lightly greased 12-cup mini Bundt pans, filling each three-fourths full.

Bake for 80 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack.

While the cake is cooling, make the glaze. Mix the sugar and butter in a heavy saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Continue to boil until the mixture thickens somewhat, 3 minutes, stirring often, and add in raisins and pecans. Remove from heat and add about 1 tablespoon of reserved rum (add fresh rum, if needed).

Set the cakes and cooling rack over a baking sheet. With a toothpick, punch holes all over the cakes. Pour 1/3 of the glaze over the cake. Wait 15 minutes, then pour the remaining glaze on top. You must glaze the cake while it's hot. Allow the cake to cool completely.

Zero-waste tips

Transform those sweet potato skins into crunchy delights. Add butter to a pan and melt over medium-high heat. Add potatoes, salt and pepper, and fry until brown and crispy.