Irish Potato Cake

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If you love mashed potatoes, try this Irish Potato Cake. It’s a spiced homemade bundt cake loaded with nuts and raisins. Mashed potatoes help keep the cake extra moist and tender.

Potatoes…for dessert?? You bet! Remember how much my kids like Bob Evans Mashed Potatoes? (Spoiler Alert: I’m not proud to admit it, but they liked them better than my own.) When mashed potatoes are in the fridge, the kids will eat them for literally every meal- breakfast, lunch and dinner.

A piece of cake sitting on top of a paper plate, with Potato

Thank you to Bob Evans Farms for sponsoring this post. As always, I only support brands I love and all opinions are my own.

Have you ever heard of using up leftover potatoes in cake? Honestly, it is rare that there ever are any leftover potatoes, but when there are, my family LOVES when I bake up this Irish Potato Cake. It’s easy. It’s super moist (thanks to those potatoes). It’s full of flavor and is so comforting.

Spice Cake with Raisins and Walnuts

What does Irish Potato Cake taste like? It has the flavor of a spice cake which comes from cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Then it is packed full of chopped walnuts (or use pecans if you’d like) and raisins. I’m honestly not usually crazy about raisins and nuts in my dessert, but they pair so well with the warm, spicy flavors in this cake.

A cake  on a plate

How to Make Irish Potato Cake

This cake is a 2-bowl cake. Recipes that are “one bowl desserts” often get all the glory, but when you are making homemade cake, it is often best to mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately.

Here are a few hints when making this cake:

  • Whisk the dry ingredients together in a small bowl. This helps ensure the flour doesn’t have clumps and also evenly distributes the baking powder and seasonings.
  • In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, then add the eggs. It’s best if the eggs are room temperature so that they blend in well.
  • The next step is alternating between the flour, milk and mashed potatoes, beating between each addition. We do half the flour, half the milk, half the potatoes, then repeat. This ensures everything is well mixed without having to overbeat the cake batter.
  • We baked this cake in a traditional 9″ bundt cake pan. It should hold at least 10 cups of batter. The cake will rise slightly as it bakes.
  • The cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean.

How to Prevent Bundt Cakes from Sticking

So often we get comments asking, “Help!! Why did my bundt cake stick to the pan?” If this is happening to you, here are a few hints:

  • Use a non-stick pan. This is one of the best ways to ensure your cakes will come out clean.
  • Grease your pan generously with shortening. Shortening always works best for us…not non-stick cooking spray and definitely not butter. Just good old-fashioned shortening. Many popular bundt cake pans are very intricate. These are very had to work with, but can make a gorgeous cake! Be sure to grease all nooks and crannies of the pan.
  • Lightly dust the pan with flour. Or finely chopped nuts. Or a sprinkling of sugar. We almost always use flour and great results. And remember…it’s just a dusting of flour. If you add a thick layer of flour, it will end up leaving a layer of flour on your baked cake, which isn’t always desired.
  • Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan.
  • Use a knife to loosen the edges of the cake.

A piece of cake covered in powdered sugar

Do you let a bundt cake cool in the pan?

We allow this cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. After that, turn it out onto a cake plate to cool completely. If you remove the cake from the pan too soon, it may fall apart. If you wait to long, it may settle in the pan and then stick slightly.

**You should always follow the directions on the specific recipe you are using, but cooling a cake 10 minutes in the pan is a general rule.**

How to Store Cake

Cake is best if you seal it in an airtight container. They sell cake carriers and also bundt cake carriers that help seal in that freshness.

You can keep cake at room temperature for 3 days. To keep cake longer, store it in the refrigerator for 5 days.

Can you freeze homemade cakes?

Yes! This cake is moist and will retain its freshness even through freezing. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap, then wrap it again in foil. When you want to defrost the cake, allow it to fully come to room temperature before unwrapping the cake. This prevents the cake from drying out during defrosting.

A piece of cake on a plate with a fork

Other Mashed Potato Recipes

Be sure to check out Bob Evans Farms website for more recipe ideas using their delicious side dishes. You can also follow them on Facebook and Pinterest.

A piece of cake on a plate
A piece of cake on a plate

Irish Potato Cake

5 from 2 votes
If you love mashed potatoes, try this Irish Potato Cake. It's a spiced homemade bundt cake loaded with nuts and raisins. Mashed potatoes help keep the cake extra moist and tender.
Servings 12
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

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Ingredients
 

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
  • cup salted butter
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 cups Bob Evans Original Mashed Potatoes
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup raisins
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar for dusting the top of the cake

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Grease a 10” bundt cake pan with shortening, then dust it with flour.
  • Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using a hand mixer. Mix well.
  • Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well blended.
  • Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture alternately with the milk and potatoes.
  • Mix until the cake batter is well blended, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Fold in the walnuts and raisins.
  • Pour the cake batter in the prepared bundt pan.
  • Bake for 80- 85 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
  • Cool the cake on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a plate to cool completely.
  • Once the cake is cool, dust the top with powdered sugar.
  • Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 12 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**

Nutrition

Calories: 448kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 141mg | Potassium: 406mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 385IU | Vitamin C: 4.8mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 3mg
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Calories 448
Keyword creamy mashed potatoes, easy bundt cake, potato cake, raisin cake

A piece of potato cake on a paper plate

About Julie Clark

I'm Julie Clark, CEO and recipe developer of Tastes of Lizzy T. With my B.A. in Education and over 30 years of cooking and baking, I want to teach YOU the best of our family recipes.

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Dorothy
1 year ago

5 stars
My family has always made a very similar cake but we add 1 cup of cocoa and 2 extra eggs.
We have this with coffee on Christmas morning…so yummy!

BJ
4 years ago

Can you make this using a spice box cake mix and add the mashed potatoes and raisin in it or what other changes put I need to do

Diana
4 years ago

If I don’t use nuts, would it be a good idea to use to cups of raisins instead of one?

barbara quinn
4 years ago

5 stars
My cake is in the oven as I type this. I could not wait to go to the store for Bob Evans potatoes, so I made my own. I added toffee chips & mini chocolate chips because my “men” do not like raisins. I plan on making another, following the recipe & ingredients to a T. It smells so good, I can hardly wait to taste it. Thanks.

Diane
4 years ago

Can you use golden raisins or do you prefer dark raisins for this recipe?

Charlotte Moore
4 years ago

I have never heard of mashed potatoes in a cake. Sweet potatoes, yes! Interesting!