Korean sweet potato cake

Photo: My Korean Kitchen

Goguma cake layers vanilla sponge with a creamy mashed sweet potato filling and whipped mascarpone cream, built for a soft, velvety texture.

From Sue Pressey at My Korean Kitchen · @mykoreankitchen

The mashed sweet potato filling brings a natural sweetness that carries the whole cake without being heavy.

You need

• 450 g sweet potatoes (Hawaiian or Okinawan), peeled and sliced into 2.5 cm (1-inch) pieces
• 1 tall vanilla sponge cake
• 1/3 cup milk, full cream
• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• 1 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk
• 30 g unsalted butter (1 ounce)
• 1/4 cup stabilized whipped cream
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tbsp white sugar, granulated
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 2 cup thickened cream
• 1 cup mascarpone
• 1/2 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)

How to make it

1. Steam the sweet potato pieces over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until a chopstick slides in easily.
2. In a pot, warm the milk, 2 Tbsp sugar, condensed milk, and butter over low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the steamed sweet potato and mash with a potato masher until smooth. Cool completely.
3. For the cake syrup, stir the water, 2 Tbsp sugar, and vanilla bean paste together, microwave 30 seconds, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
4. Slice the sponge into three even 1.5cm layers (from one tall cake, or two shorter ones cut in half, keeping the three most even layers). Brush each layer with the vanilla syrup.
5. If you want crumb decoration, trim the brown edges off any extra sponge, grate it, and pass it through a sieve for fine crumbs.
6. Whip the thickened cream, icing sugar, and mascarpone together in a chilled bowl until stiff peaks form, keeping it cold over a bowl of ice as you work.
7. Fold 1/4 cup of the whipped cream into the cooled sweet potato mixture until smooth.
8. Put the whipped cream and sweet potato filling into separate piping bags. Layer: sponge, whipped cream, sponge, sweet potato filling, sponge, then cover the whole cake in whipped cream and smooth the sides.
9. Decorate with sponge crumbs, sweet potato chips, or leftover boiled sweet potato pieces. Chill at least an hour before slicing.

Written in our own words from Sue Pressey's recipe, with their quantities. The original: Korean sweet potato cake, My Korean Kitchen.

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