These moist, moist cupcakes get their lovely shade of orange from the roasted sweet potato, the key player in this recipe. I love how sweet potato is so versatile. One of my favourite savoury treats is sweet potato fries, and yam is featured in a completely different (but awesome!) way in this recipe.  To make the surprise chocolate centers, you will need some chocolate Kisses (or large chocolate chips). We didn’t have any on hand, and the only kind available at the corner store was candy cane flavoured…so we went with big fat chunks of high quality bittersweet chocolate. The chocolate wasn’t a surprise in our cupcakes, but they were still delicious!

Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Chocolate Center (adapted from Better Homes and Garden, November 2011)

Makes 24 cupcakes

ingredients

• 2cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ginger
• ¼ tsp cloves
• ¼ tsp ginger
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, roasted*, peeled, and mashed
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 24 milk chocolate or dark chocolate kisses, unwrapped

• directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line twenty-four 2 1/2-inch muffin cups with folded 5×4-inch rectangles of parchment paper or paper bake cups; set aside.
2.In a medium bowl, combine the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar; beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With mixer on low, beat in eggs one at a time, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl between additions. Add the sweet potato, milk, and vanilla; beat on low speed until combined. Add the flour mixture to the sugar-egg mixture; beat on low just until combined.
3.Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full with batter. Bake for 5 minutes. Carefully remove pan from oven. Gently press kisses, tips up, about halfway into each cup. Bake for 14 minutes more, until tops of cupcakes spring back when touched and chocolate is not visible. Cool cupcakes in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
* To roast sweet potatoes, preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prick unpeeled potatoes all over with a fork. Roast potatoes in a shallow baking pan for 50 minutes or until tender. Cool. The sweet potato can be prepared up to three days in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container

These are best soon after coming out of the oven. Although still super tasty a few days later, the chocolate center won’t be soft and gooey

Happy Baking!