Chocolate Potato Cake (raw, not mashed)
This is a unique cake, incredibly moist, sweet and fudgy, it's mixed in the food processor! The chocolate peanut butter frosting is just, literally, the icing on this fabulous cake.
Servings 12 servings
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 4 ounces russet potato (or another type), raw, peeled and cut to fit feed tube
- 2 cups sour cream at room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 eggs large, at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the peanut butter frosting:
- 1 cup peanut butter at room temperature
- 2 ounces semisweet chocolate melted
- 3 to 4 tablespoons whipping cream
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar optional, see notes below
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (180°C).
- Butter and flour 9×13 inch (20x26cm) cake pan and line it with parchment paper, see Notes belwo.
- Put the shredding disc in the food processor and shred 4 ounces russet potato. If you don’t have a large food processor, you may need to make the cake batter in two batches.
- Change to the steel knife. If you had to remove the shredded potato momentarily put it back in the bowl of the processor.
- Add 2 cups sour cream, 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ¾ cups sugar, ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ cup unsalted butter, 2 eggs, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and ½ teaspoon salt and process for 3-4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of the bowl and making sure nothing sticks to the bottom.
- If you have to make it in batches transfer each mixture to a large bowl and then mix it all together.
- Pour chocolate mixture into prepared pan.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack and remove onto a platter, running a smooth-bladed knife around the edges to make sure there are no stuck pieces and helping you with the parchment paper.
- Frost with peanut butter chocolate frosting or dust with powdered sugar.
For peanut butter frosting:
- Melt 2 ounces semisweet chocolate and 2 tablespoons cream in the microwave or double boiler.
- Mix thoroughly with 1 cup peanut butter and the rest of the cream.
- If you want a thicker consistency add ⅓ cup powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.
- Spread on top of the cooled cake with a spatula.
Notes
Potato: I use Russet potatoes, which, for me, are the regular, everyday ones. The original recipe is made with Idaho potatoes, and I read that they are similar in starch content, making the cake more or less fudgier. So, make it with your favorite and see how it goes. It will be amazing with any potato, but you might see subtle differences.
Frosting: after mixing peanut butter with chocolate, add powdered sugar and/or cream until you get the desired consistency. It depends a lot on how thick the peanut butter and cream are. A lot. Sometimes, you hardly need to add sugar at all. We have a post with more details about this peanut butter chocolate frosting.
Powdered sugar: You can only dust powdered sugar instead of frosting it. It is a wonderful plain cake.
Pans: It can be made in any pan you want - cupcakes, round layers, squares, or even loaf pans. I like to make it in a square pan (image above) because I like to cut cakes in squares.
Make ahead: the chocolate cake can be baked in advance and kept in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for a month, always well wrapped. Defrost at room temperature. Same with the frosting, it keeps well for 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator, covered.