This sweet potato pecan bundt cake is a vegan bundt cake with a gooey caramel pecan topping. This incredibly soft cake has an earthy sweetness. The pureed sweet potato forms most of the structure for this vegan cake with a dense, pillowy crumb. Baked in a bundt pan, the brown sugar and maple caramel becomes the gooey pecan topping when inverted and served. It is easy to make with no candy thermometer needed for the simple caramel. If you’re looking for vegan bundt cakes, vegan fall desserts, or vegan pecan desserts, this is the perfect recipe to make!
And, if you’re looking for more delicious vegan recipes, try this blackberry coffee cake or these cranberry crisp bars.
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What You’ll Need For This Sweet Potato Pecan Bundt Cake
Tools You’ll Need
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How To Make A Sweet Potato Pecan Bundt Cake
Peel and cook sweet potato chunks covered in simmering water until very soft. Drain well and mash. Alternatively, bake sweet potato until soft. Allow it to cool and scoop out flesh.
Preheat oven to 350° F/175 C. Grease a 10”/25cm bundt pan (at least 6 cups/1.5L volume). For best coverage use cooking spray or vegan margarine rather than liquid oil.
In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup/100g brown sugar, maple syrup, and coconut cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring gently until the sugar is dissolved.
Cook at a low boil for 1 minute.
Add the cinnamon, salt, and vanilla. Stir to combine.
Add the pecans to the bottom of the greased bundt pan.
Pour the caramel over the pecans.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir to evenly distribute.
In a large bowl, combine sweet potato puree, oil, oat milk, and brown sugar. Blend with a hand mixer until smooth.
Add the flour mixture and blend until smooth and no lumps remain.
Scrape into the prepared pan over the pecan caramel.
Bake for 40-45 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Allow the sweet potato pecan bundt cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting on to a cooling rack or plate. Unmolding while still warm prevents the sugar from cooling and adhering to the sides. If cake cools completely before unmolding, soak the outside of the pan briefly (about 15 seconds) in a bowl of hot water to loosen the sugar.
Allow cake to cool completely before serving. Best the same day. Can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving. Does not freeze well.
Important Recipe Notes
Oil choice: Any unsaturated oil will work in this recipe. The best choices are very neutral flavored oils like canola, sunflower, or vegetable. Coconut oil should not be used as it will react with the potato and resolidify, creating uneven pockets of moisture.
Sweet Potato Varieties: The recipe is demonstrated with orange fleshed sweet potatoes/yams but will also work with pale/yellow fleshed sweet potatoes.
Vegan Dessert Recipes
Mini Cherry Galettes– These vegan mini cherry galettes are the most stunning and delicious dessert you will make all season! Flaky, golden crust filled with sweet and juicy cherries — they look incredibly impressive but are so much easier to pull together than you think.
Salted Caramel Apple Cookies– These vegan salted caramel apple cookies are the fall dessert recipe you never knew you needed! Soft, chewy, and packed with warm apple flavor then finished with a drizzle of rich salted caramel — they are completely plant based and absolutely irresistible from the very first bite.
Vegan Sweet Potato Pecan Cake
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup/100g light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup/120ml coconut cream
- 1/4 cup/60ml maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp/3g salt
- 1 tsp/5ml vanilla extract
- 1 tsp/2g ground cinnamon
- 1 cup/110g chopped pecans
- 2 ¼ cups/270g all-purpose flour
- 3 tsp/12g baking powder
- 1/2 tsp/2g baking soda
- ½ tsp/3g salt
- 1 tsp/2g ground cinnamon
- 1 cup/205g light brown sugar packed
- 1 1/2 cup/390g sweet potato puree
- 3/4 cup/180ml oat milk
- 1/3 cup/78ml neutral oil
Method
- Peel and cook sweet potato chunks, covered in simmering water until very soft. Drain well and mash. Alternatively, bake sweet potato until soft. Allow to cool and scoop out flesh.
- Preheat oven to 350° F/175 C. Grease a 10”/25cm bundt pan (at least 6 cups/1.5L volume). For best coverage use cooking spray or vegan margarine rather than liquid oil.
- In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup/100g brown sugar, maple syrup, and coconut cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring gently until the sugar is dissolved.
- Cook at a low boil for 1 minute.
- Add the cinnamon, salt, and vanilla. Stir to combine.
- Add the pecans to the bottom of the greased bundt pan.
- Pour the caramel over the pecans.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir to evenly distribute.
- In a large bowl, combine sweet potato puree, oil, oat milk, and brown sugar. Blend with a hand mixer until smooth.
- Add the flour mixture and blend until smooth and no lumps remain.
- Scrape into the prepared pan over the pecan caramel.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting on to a cooling rack or plate. Unmolding while still warm prevents the sugar from cooling and adhering to the sides. If cake cools completely before unmolding, soak the outside of the pan briefly (about 15 seconds) in a bowl of hot water to loosen the sugar.
- Allow cake to cool completely before serving. Best the same day. Can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving. Does not freeze well.
