Sweet Potato Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Woah now.  Sweet potato cake?  There's sweet potato pie...and pumpkin cake...and potato bread...and sweet potato casserole...but sweet potato cake?  Yeah okay so it sounds a little strange at first, but it's really not all that weird when you think about it.  Sweet potatoes are super similar to pumpkin, and there's pumpkin cake, so why not have a sweet potato cake?  At least this is what I was thinking before I made this magnificently scrumptious masterpiece.  I brought this to school for a party, and all my friends - and the teachers - raved about it. It is SO amazing.  The secret ingredient in this recipe is the beer.  I don't know the scientific reason for it, but beer makes baked goods so incredibly moist and have the softest texture.  Oh and I haven't even started on this cream cheese frosting.  It's like heaven in your mouth.  Beating it for 3 minutes makes it fluffy and it melts in your mouth.  And the cinnamon flavor mixed with the sweet potato flavor makes the whole dish just scream fall.  And with fall comes Thanksgiving(:  This cake may just be on our Thanksgiving table this year...

Yield: 1 9x13 inch pan

Ingredients
1 cup white sugar

3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 pinch of nutmeg

Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch baking dish.

2.Stir together the sugar and vegetable oil in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and sweet potatoes. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a separate bowl; stir into the batter 1 cup at a time, alternating with the beer just until everything comes together. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

3.Bake for 30-35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting (optional) or serving.

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cream Cheese Frosting: 

• 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
• 8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
• 2 - 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Instructions

1 With an electric mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes on medium speed until very smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.

2 Add the vanilla extract and mix. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Keep adding until you get to desired sweetness and thickness.