Maple Sweet Potato Bread

Moist, tender and perfectly sweet, my maple sweet potato bread is a colorful autumn pick to bake up and enjoy as a snack or even a light breakfast. Prepared with sweet potatoes, a kiss of cinnamon for warmth, plus a touch of both maple sugar and maple syrup for loads of maple flavor, this recipe tastes of fall coziness in every slice!

Sweet potato bread brimming with the flavor and color of fall

When I think of autumn, one of the first things that come to mind for me is the colors of the season...

Warm, earthy hues brimming with orange and gold come alive in my imagination, like those found in the bounty of produce such as the various squashes and sweet potatoes, plentiful this time of year.

One of my favorite things to do during the golden autumn season is to get cozy and bake simple and delicious breads and muffins to enjoy as sweet snacks. A few of my favorites are my moist pumpkin muffins, my sweet apple bread, or my spiced snickerdoodle cake.

I realized I hadn't yet created a mouthwatering baked treat making use of vibrant sweet potatoes. So this year, I thought it would be deliciously fitting to create a sweet potato bread recipe kissed with the flavor of maple, plus just a hint of spice to warm things up.

My maple sweet potato bread is perfectly moist, and is a wonderful pick-me-up on a crisp autumn afternoon with a cup of tea or coffee. With just the right amount of sweetness, it's a delightfully cozy little splurge brimming with the flavors and colors we love during the fall!

My recipe for maple sweet potato bread

What I adore about a bread or loaf-style treat like this is that it's quick and easy to mix up and bake, and then enjoy as a snack or even as a light breakfast. It's delicious at room temp or lightly warmed, perhaps with a swipe of butter, for extra decadence!

Sweet potatoes are a terrific option for a bread like this, because their puree has a good amount of sweetness and moisture in it, and acts similarly to the way that pumpkin puree does in a preparation like this.

While one can easily use canned sweet potato puree in this recipe, I like to use fresh sweet potatoes, and then cook them in the microwave in mere minutes before mashing the flesh (or using a ricer) until smooth.

I just feel that the flavor is a bit more intense using the fresh sweet potatoes, though using canned will save a few minutes of time, if you're pressed.

And because the flavor of sweet potatoes is rather delicate, I wanted to support that by using a combination of brown and maple sugar, plus a little drizzle of pure maple syrup. The brown sugar adds a bit of molasses-infused depth and some moisture, and the maple sugar and syrup add subtle caramel notes, with both bringing sweetness to this sweet potato bread recipe.

I also wanted to keep the spices more subtle to not overpower that maple and sweet potato flavor, so I add just a small amount of cinnamon, to warm things up.

What helps to create that light and wonderfully tender crumb is using a combination of oil and full-fat sour cream, which keeps this sweet potato bread delightfully moist for days after baking. Let me tell you, it's hard to eat just one slice!

Here's a sneak peek at how I make my maple sweet potato bread recipe:

(or just jump to the full recipe...)

1. To get started, I cook my sweet potatoes in the microwave until tender.
2. Once cool enough to handle, I use a ricer or masher to mash the sweet potato flesh until smooth, reserving 1 cup of this puree for the recipe.
3. Next, I whisk together my dry ingredients and set that mixture aside.
4. Then, I separately whisk my wet ingredients (including my sweet potato puree), and add the dry ingredients into the wet and fold together just until combined.
5. I then pour the sweet potato bread batter into my prepared loaf pan, and bake for roughly 58 minutes to 1 hour, or until the bread is baked through.
6. Finally, I allow the maple sweet potato bread to cool for a moment in the pan before removing it and allowing it to completely cool on a wire rack before slicing up and enjoying.

Recipe

Maple Sweet Potato Bread

by Ingrid Beer

Print Recipe

This moist, cozy maple sweet potato bread is brimming with maple sugar and maple syrup, plus a kiss of brown sugar and warming cinnamon!

Category: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Yield: 1 loaf (serves 9)

Nutrition info: 398 calories (per serving)

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes, scrubbed (or 1 cup canned sweet potato puree blotted of excess liquid)
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup maple sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 large eggs, room temp
• 2 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ teaspoons maple extract
• ½ cup avocado oil (or other neutral oil)
• ½ cup full-fat sour cream, room temp

Preparation:

1. Begin by gathering and prepping all of your ingredients according to the ingredient list above to have ready and organized for use.
2. If preparing the sweet potato puree using the fresh, whole sweet potatoes, then poke the scrubbed sweet potatoes a few times with a fork, and place into the microwave. Microwave the potatoes according to the “baked potato” setting, until tender.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper that overhangs (for easier removal of the bread once baked), and lightly mist with cooking spray.
4. Once the sweet potatoes are tender, carefully split them in half lengthwise, and allow them to cool just enough to handle. Then, scoop out the flesh (discarding the skin) and either mash it until completely smooth, or use a ricer to pass the sweet potatoes through to create a smooth puree. You will need 1 cup of sweet potato puree for the recipe.
5. Next, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, and set these dry ingredients aside for a moment.
6. To another larger bowl, add the 1 cup of sweet potato puree, the maple sugar and brown sugar, the maple syrup, the eggs, and the vanilla and maple extracts, and whisk together until completely smooth.
7. Then, add to these wet ingredients the avocado oil and the sour cream, and whisk those in to completely blend and incorporate.
8. Next, add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and using a rubber spatula, fold everything together just until incorporated, taking care not to overmix the batter.
9. Pour the sweet potato bread batter into your prepared loaf pan, and bake the sweet potato bread for about 58 minutes to 1 hour, or until baked through and a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
10. Allow the sweet potato bread to cool in the loaf pan for about 10 minutes, then using the overhanging parchment paper, lift the bread out and allow it to cool on a wire rack completely.
11. Once cooled, slice and enjoy the sweet potato bread, as desired.

Tips & Tidbits for my sweet potato bread recipe:

• Whole sweet potatoes, or canned sweet potato puree: For this tasty recipe, I like to use whole sweet potatoes, and cook them myself for a few minutes in the microwave. I think the flavor is better and more intense, plus the sweet potatoes are fresher. But for the sake of convenience, you can easily opt for canned sweet potato puree, and use 1 cup's worth of that. Take care to blot any excess liquid, if using the canned version.
• Maple sugar and maple syrup for flavor: To create more depth of flavor for this sweet potato bread, I like to use a touch of pure maple syrup, as well as maple sugar. I prefer not to use any refined white sugar. But if you'd rather not use maple sugar, feel free to use all brown sugar. In that case, use a little less, for a total of ¾ cup of brown sugar.
• How to store your sweet potato bread: The wonderful thing about this sweet potato bread recipe is that, when stored correctly, it gets even more moist the day, or even two days, after baking. I like to keep mine under a glass dome (like a cake dome cover), or keep it on a large plate/platter, wrapped in plastic. You can freeze any leftover portions (even a whole loaf) in a zip-top freezer bag, for later enjoyment.

Craving more cozy desserts like this one? Check out my recipe for Zucchini Carrot Bread, Apple Cider Donuts, Buttered Pecan Banana Bread, Maple Pecan Blondies, Maple Scones, Snickerdoodle Cake, or even my recipe for Apple Bread with Cinnamon Sugar Streusel!