This recipe was a complete surprise to me, but such a pleasant one that I wanted to share it with you! One of my dearest and nearest friends loves potatoes (in any shape or form), and I thought it was a fun idea to make a sweet birthday cake for her. I had no idea how this cake would turn out. I used a recipe as a loose guideline, but in the end changes so many things. Dare I say – this Potato Pound Cake was so wonderfully fluffy, delicious, felt light, but yet had great texture. You will be in for a treat!
What You Will Find In This Post
- What is a pound cake?
- Why potaotes are good for us
- Easy Swaps and Questions
- How you can adjust this Potato Pound Cake to your dietary requirements
- Other delicious cake recipes on the blog
What Is a Pound Cake?
It was an absolute nightmare to “name” this recipe as potato cakes are usually savory and kind of like small fritters. So I needed to make this cake sound a bit different, so that the user understands it is a sweet “something” and a real cake, not a “fritter”. The word “pound” in pound cake usually refers to a type of cake that gets its name by the simplicity and proportions of the ingredients, e.g. butter, sugar, eggs, flour – all added in a pound. This will not happen here, and you have to take the pound more as a guidance than a fact, because whereas traditional pound cakes can be quite heavy, this one is definitely on the light, airy and fluffier side.
Why Potatoes Are Good For Us
Sincerely, Germans love their potatoes in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes, potatoes do get a bit of a bad rep, but I feel that is slightly unfair because they also have a few things to offer in terms of nutritional value. They contain quite a bit of fiber and some protein and are high in vitamin C, potassium, manganese, magnesium, and phosphorus. I am going to be honest here in saying, that a lot of these beneficial nutrients are found close to the skin (as is the case in a lot of fruits and vegetables), which we will be eliminating for this recipe. It is, still a cake, after all. Potatoes also contain some antioxidants, namely of the flavonoids category. These types of antioxidants are not only excellent at eliminating free radicals from our bodies. But, in test tube studies they have also been shown to potentially suppress the growth of colon and liver cancer cells. Last but not least, purple potatoes may contain a higher amount of antioxidants than its white counterparts.
Easy Swaps and Questions
Is this cake really sweet? I have never tried a sweet potato cake before. Yes, this cake tastes like cake for sure. We tend to not eat overtly sweet in our household so if you want to have this cake a tad sweeter, simply increase the xylitol amount to 200 or 220 grams.
Can I swap the polenta for some almond flour? I feel this should work, but you perhaps want to use slightly less almond flour as it tends to absorb a lot of moisture. If you do swap, let me know how you get on!
Can I use another form of nuts instead of chopped almonds? Yes, you absolutely can! I have also made this with chopped hazelnuts and it was absolutely delicious.
How you can adjust this Potato Pound Cake to your dietary requirements
This recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free. You could make it nut-free by not using the almonds or swapping them for sunflower seeds. Completely omitting it may take away from the texture of the cake. Due to the eggs used, it is not suited for the vegan lifestyle.
Other Delicious Cake Recipes on the Blog
There are a lot of great options in terms of gluten-free baking if you would like to have a wander. Be sure to also check out the following recipes:
- Apple Crumble Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Polenta Bread
- Very Coconutty and Lime Naked Cake
- Gluten-free Almond Chocolate Cake
- Peanut Butter Banana Cake
I hope you enjoy this cake as much as we did over here. As always, do let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. I love hearing from you! This recipe was inspired by Einfach Kochen’s Kartoffelkuchen süß. Enjoy!
Potato Pound Cake
12
pieces30
minutes10
minutes80
minutesFluffy, delicious, and with a slight hint of lemon. This Potato Pound Cake is not only for potato lovers, I promise! Enjoy.
Ingredients
- For the Potato Pound Cake
500 gr. potatoes
6 eggs, divided
A pinch of salt
180 gr. xylitol
1 lemon, juice and zest
50 gr. blanched, chopped almonds
100 gr. polenta
- To serve
Powdered xylitol
Whipped creme
(Or even some vanilla ice cream)
How to
- Wash and peel the potatoes. Add to a pot with water and a generous pinch of salt and cook for about 10 minutes. They should still be hard but can slightly be pierced with a knife. Drain under cold water and let cool
- Separate the eggs into two different bowls. Whisk the egg white with about 60 gr. of the xylit until stiff and fluffy. Put into the fridge until you are ready with the other steps
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius top and bottom heat (350 Fahrenheit). Line the bottom of a spring form (I used 28cm in diameter, but 26 should work as well) with parchment paper and use a bit of coconut or olive oil to grease the sides. Continue making the cake
- In the bowl with the egg yolks, add the remaining xylitol and and mix until fluffy. Add the lemon zest (from about half of the lemon), as well as the juice. The potatoes should be cold by now. With a potato grinder or a rub, grind the potatoes. Add to the egg yolk mixture, along with the polenta, and blanched chopped nuts. Mix everything through. As a final step, carefully fold in the egg whites until just mixed through. Add the mixture to the spring form and put into the oven. Bake for ca. 75 – 80 minutes. If you realize the cake is becoming too brown on top, put some tin foil or parchment paper on top of the cake. The cake is done, when a small tooth pick comes out largely clean. Take out of the oven and let cool completely
- To serve
- To serve, add some more powdered xylitol on top, or even whipped creme or some vanilla ice cream. Enjoy this light, fluffy, and delicious potato pound cake!
