Spiced Sweet Potato Loaf

By Ben · cooked up in Sprig

The whole kitchen fills with warm cinnamon and ginger the moment this loaf hits the oven — it smells like fall in a single pan. Roasted sweet potato keeps every slice impossibly moist, while brown sugar and a pinch of nutmeg give it a deep, caramel-edged sweetness that plain banana bread never quite reaches. The crumb is tender and dense in the best way, almost like a soft, sliceable spice cake. It's the kind of thing you bake on a Sunday afternoon and find yourself slicing straight from the pan before it's even fully cooled.

Ingredients

• 1 cup mashed sweet potato (from about 1 medium sweet potato, cooked and mashed)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan lightly with oil or nonstick spray and set aside.
2. If you haven't cooked the sweet potato yet, pierce it several times with a fork and microwave on high for 5–7 minutes, flipping halfway, until completely tender. Scoop out the flesh and mash it smooth with a fork. Let it cool for 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed sweet potato, eggs, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth and fully combined.

1. Add the brown sugar to the wet ingredients and whisk until dissolved and no lumps remain.
2. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg directly to the bowl. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold everything together gently until just combined — a few streaks of flour are fine. Do not overmix or the loaf will be tough.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with your spatula. Optionally, sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon sugar over the top for a lightly crunchy crust.
4. Bake on the center rack for 50–55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. If the top browns too quickly after 35 minutes, tent loosely with foil.
5. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack. Slice once mostly cooled for the cleanest cuts, though warm slices with a little butter are hard to resist.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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