Chocolate Mashed Potato Cake

Once a holiday is over, I have a fridge full of leftovers. 

I have a love/hate relationship with leftovers. It's nice not having to cook again for a day or so, but then I get a little tired of eating the same thing again.

That's why it's nice to have recipes that repurpose those leftovers into new dishes. Last week, I shared a recipe for slow cooker scalloped potatoes with ham that is a great way to make use of leftover ham.

Today, I have this Chocolate Mashed Potato Cake recipe that uses leftover mashed potatoes in a whole new way. I love baking with mashed potatoes! I use them in my Amish dinner rolls to make the rolls lighter and fluffier.

The mashed potatoes work the same magic in this cake. The cake is really moist, and the potatoes also help to give it a fluffier texture. I cut a fair amount of sugar from the original recipe, but we didn't notice that it was gone.

If you like your desserts really sweet, I'd suggest adding an additional 1/4-1/2 cup of granulated sugar and doubling the frosting portion. As it is, there's a thin layer of frosting, which is perfect for me, but a many people like a thicker layer of frosting.

This is a chocolate cake that my daughter asks for a lot. I hope you'll enjoy it just as much as we do!

For this recipe, I recommend…

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Chocolate Mashed Potato Cake

Author i heart eating

Ingredients

Chocolate Mashed Potato Cake

• 1 3/4 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter at cool room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk low-fat ok. At room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate melted and cooled slightly
• 3/4 cup plain mashed potatoes warm*

Chocolate Frosting**

• 6 tablespoons butter softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate melted and cooled slightly
• 2 tablespoons milk, half-and-half, or heavy cream

Instructions

To make the cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking dish. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until combined. 

4. Beat in eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla until well-combined.

5. Add mashed potatoes and melted chocolate. Mix until incorporated. 

6. Stir in flour mixture until just incorporated. 

7. Pour batter into prepared baking pan, smoothing as needed.

8. Bake for 35-50 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

9. Let cake cool to room temperature before frosting.

To make the frosting

1. Beat butter and powdered sugar together until well-combined.

2. Mix in chocolate and milk until completely incorporated. 

3. Spread over cooled cake. 

Recipe Notes

*Instant or regular will work. 

**The frosting recipe will make enough for a thin layer of frosting. If you like a thicker layer of frosting on your cake, you'll want to double the frosting portion. 

***If you prefer a chocolate frosting made with cocoa powder, my chocolate buttercream frosting works well. 

 

Adapted from Desserts From the Famous Loveless Cafe.