Gingerbread Sweet Potato Snack Cake {Whole Grain}

Gingerbread meets sweet potato in this snack cake filled with high fiber and nutritious whole grains.

Disclosure: I was asked to participate in the #HeartBaking18 campaign as a member of the Healthy Aperture Blogger Network. I was compensated for my time.

It’s baking time friends and I have a yummy whole grain sweet potato snack cake to share. What is a snack cake you might be asking? To me, it’s basically a lighter, more nutritious version of a cake that can be enjoyed for a snack. There is no high fat buttery frosting either which makes it acceptable for a breakfast or snack.

Why bake with whole grains? Well, not only do they taste good and have a heartier, flavorful texture but they are nutritious! Thanks to companies like Hodgson Mill, it’s easy to find a variety of whole grains to enjoy.

The majority of people don’t get enough fiber, which is vital for heart and digestive health. Whole grains are a key source of fiber.

Whole grains are specially produced to retain all parts of the grain- often grains, such as white all-purpose flour, are refined to remove the nutritious bran and germ, which are packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals. It doesn’t mean that you should never use regular flour, but current guidelines suggest that you should try to consume at least half of your grains as WHOLE grains.

It’s not too hard when you have great products on the shelves like these grain medleys or baking products such as white whole wheat, buckwheat flour, whole grain oat flour or quinoa flour to name a few.

This snack cake is loaded with whole grain goodness from the whole wheat pastry flour and quinoa flour. Quinoa has been referred to as a superfood is a great source of protein and fiber. It has a grittier texture so I don’t recommend substituting 100% of your flour with it, but somewhere between 25-50% of the recipe. Here I did a third of quinoa flour and the rest whole wheat pastry flour.

I love the lighter texture of pastry flour, but if you can’t find it just substitute white whole wheat flour. With that being said, you would not believe how fluffy and moist this 100% whole grain cake is!

I boosted the nutrition in this cake even further by the addition of sweet potato, which doesn’t really have a strong flavor but rather adds moisture and a slight sweetness, sort of like pumpkin does for pumpkin bread. I cut back on the amount of sugar you would find in a regular cake and added lots of spices to boost the flavor.

My kids love it topped with a little cinnamon powdered sugar. Mmmm….

New to whole grain baking? I recommend picking one and experimenting with a 25% or 50% substitution with all-purpose flour. And if you make this snack cake, let me know what you think!

Be sure to follow Hodgson Mill on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Pinterest for more delicious, healthy recipes!

[Tweet “#AD Gingerbread + sweet potato is delicious in this whole grain snack cake! @hodgsonmill #HeartBaking18 @healthyaperture”]

5.0 from 5 reviews

Sweet Potato Snack Cake

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Author: Melanie F. | Nutritious Eats

Recipe type: Snack

Serves: 9

Ingredients

• 1 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour (lightly fill your measuring cup with a spoon, do not pack it in)
• ½ cup quinoa flour (lightly fill your measuring cup with a spoon, do not pack it in)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
• 1½ teaspoon ginger
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ⅛ teaspoon cloves
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sweet potato (~1 large or 2 small potatoes. Using leftover sweet potatoes is great or you can microwave ahead of time)
• ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup molasses
• 2 eggs
• ⅓ cup neutral tasting oil, like canola or avocado oil
• ½ cup hot water
• Topping:
• 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar plus ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. To cook sweet potatoes in a hurry, pierce a few times with a fork and cook in microwave for ~7 minutes or until soft (add an additional minute until soft) or bake in oven for 45 minutes at 375 (great to use leftover sweet potatoes that are already cooled). Let sweet potatoes cool before using.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl (whole wheat pastry flour through salt). In a larger bowl mix sugar, molasses, eggs, sweet potato and oil with an electric mixer for about 30 seconds or until smooth. Next, slowly pour in very hot water to the wet ingredients while mixing on low.
3. Pour half of dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix on low. Add the remaining dry ingredients and continue to mix until combined. Do not over beat the mixture.
4. Pour into a prepared 8x8 baking dish (I cut a piece of square parchment paper for the bottom then rub butter on it and dust it with a little flour). Bake for 30-35 minutes at 325 degrees or until toothpick comes out clean. Avoid over baking so the cake won't get dried out.
5. Once the it cools, use a sifter to sift powdered sugar cinnamon all over the top. (you will have some cinnamon powdered sugar leftover). Cut and enjoy. If you aren't serving until later, wait on dusting it with the cinnamon powdered sugar because overtime it will absorb into the cake.

Notes

If your oven runs hot, check cake a couple minutes early.
This is not an overly sweet cake. If that is what you are looking for, you will want to increase the amount of brown sugar used.

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