Spiced Sweet Potato Bars

A single-pan dessert bar made with mashed sweet potato, warm baking spices, and a simple cream cheese frosting spread over fully cooled bars. The texture is moist and cakey rather than dense, and the bars slice cleanly after cooling and chilling.

By Julienne

Cook time: 32 minutes

Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1000 ml water for boiling the sweet potato
• 450 g sweet potato, peeled and cubed for cooking and mashing
• 190 g all-purpose flour sifted if lumpy
• 8 g baking powder
• 3 g fine salt
• 4 g ground cinnamon
• 1 g ground nutmeg
• 85 g unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
• 200 g granulated sugar
• 55 g light brown sugar packed
• 2 each large egg room temperature
• 10 ml vanilla extract
• 225 g cream cheese softened
• 180 g powdered sugar sifted if lumpy
• 30 ml milk added a little at a time for frosting consistency

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 175 C. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on two sides. Place the peeled sweet potato cubes in a saucepan, add 1000 ml of the water, and simmer until very tender, 12 to 15 minutes. The sweet potato breaks apart easily when pressed with a fork.
2. Drain the sweet potato well, then mash until smooth. Measure out 300 g mashed sweet potato for the batter; reserve the remaining cooked sweet potato for another use or discard it if not needed. You have a smooth mash with little visible steam or excess moisture.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The dry ingredients are evenly distributed with no visible spice clumps.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and 300 g of the mashed sweet potato until smooth. The mixture looks cohesive and glossy, with the sweet potato fully blended in.
5. Fold the wet mixture into the dry ingredients just until no dry streaks remain, then spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. The batter is thick and evenly spread from corner to corner.
6. Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, until the center springs back lightly and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan on a rack, about 30 minutes. The top is set, lightly browned at the edges, and the center is no longer gummy.
7. Beat the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add the milk gradually until the frosting is spreadable. The frosting is smooth, thick, and easy to spread without running.
8. Spread the frosting over the cooled bars, then chill briefly if needed to firm the topping before slicing into 12 bars. The frosting holds its shape and the bars cut cleanly into neat squares.