Sweet potato coffee cake is a true treat for breakfast or snack. Moist sweet potato cake with a brown sugar gooey center with a crunchy topping.

Recipe Highlights
- Moist cake with a crunchy topping that pairs well with morning coffee or a afternoon treat.
- It’s an easy to make recipe. A bit more work than a box cake but you won’t break a sweat making this delicious coffee cake.
- Tools needed, I do recommend having a pastry cutter, food processor or stand mixer. Any of those 3 will help with cutting the butter into the sugars.
Ingredients list for the recipe
- Sweet potato
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda & baking powder
- Cinnamon
- Powdered sugar
- Milk

Helpful tips I’ve learned
- Bake the sweet potatoes! Baking the sweet potatoes gives them so much flavor versus boiling them. Yes, boiling is quicker but the potatoes soak in the water versus caramelizing the sugars slowly like they do while baking.
- I only recommend the icing if you have a true sweet tooth. As far as extra flavor, it doesn’t do anything other than make the coffee cake sweeter and prettier for photos.
- Toss a few nuts in to give a texture change when serving, pecans or walnuts work best.
Recipes to try next
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Sweet Potato Coffee Cake
Sweet potato coffee cake is a true treat for breakfast or snack. Moist sweet potato cake with a brown sugar gooey center with a crunchy topping.
Equipment
- 8×8 baking dish
- Pastry cutter
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoon butter (melted)
- 2 large egg
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sweet potato (cooked & mashed)
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (166g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Crumbles for middle/topping
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (95g)
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 6 tablespoon butter (cold)
Glaze (optional)
- 1 cup powder sugar
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- To start, preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Next, using a hand mixer, mix together the eggs, butter, sweet potato, sugar, and vanilla until everything is smooth.
- In a separate bowl, add in the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Combine the dry and wet ingredients.
- Pour half the batter into the baking pan lined with parchment paper.
- Cut the cold butter into the ingredients for the crumbled topping in a bowl using the pastry cutter, then spread half across the batter you just poured in the pan. (if you don't own a pastry cutter, see notes below)
- Pour the remaining batter on top then finish the coffee cake off with the rest of the crumbles across the top. Place the baking pan in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- When the cake is out the oven and cooling, whisk together the glaze. When the cake is fully cooled, add the glaze across the top, slice and enjoy.
Notes
If you own a food processor or stand mixer you can easily replace the pastry cutter. With both of those machines, toss all the ingredients for the crumbles in at the same time and let the machines do their magic. Once the butter is incorporated into the ingredients you’re done and can move on to the next step.
Nutrition
Calories: 422kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 312mg | Potassium: 128mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 2703IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 2mg
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
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